Falling For You
by 1967HogwartsGoddess
Summary: Annabeth was slipping and Percy dived to save her; only something went wrong. On the surface, Annabeth leads the Seven, desperate to rescue him and unite the camps. Alone in Tartarus, Percy finds himself making harsher choices, discovering darker methods, unlocking deeper powers, tortured and fighting for his life. He swears he's still a good kid. Post MOA
1. Annabeth I : Leo I

**Heyyyyyy.**

 **So to start with, I'd like to make a few dedications to Lililibird, ofswordsandpens, and every other dark!Percy headcanon maker, because I was absolutely binging them and I thought that the last two books in HoO were good, but could have had more character development, so here's like, probably too much character development. To clarify, Percy is not evil in this.**

 **I'm trying to keep this within the limits of canon. He may do some like vaguely evil things, but I hope it's not too OOC for what he's going through. And I'm trying to keep this vaguely original, so there won't be any cHamPiOn Of ChAoS or pErTiMiS (which is yikes) and Percy isn't gonna burn CHB to the ground to gEt ReVeNgE oN tHoSe WhO wRoNgEd HiM. Like I binge some of those don't get me wrong, they're fine, but I'm just sayin this ain't one of em. P** **robably have many chapters. Probably have a sequel. Idk. I'm not Rick, so I don't own anything.**

 **Just a little AU- What if Percy had fallen into Tartarus alone?**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 1

Annabeth I

To Annabeth, nothing was more interesting than watching a giant spider fall down a pit.

Whole chunks of the floor had just caved in around them. The assembled group watched, grimly satisfied, as the hulk of Arachne flew down the black and empty space, down to Tartarus below. Hazel was dabbing at a wound on her arm, Frank watching closely with worry. But out of all of them, it was Annabeth especially who breathed a sigh of relief.

No more spiders.

Thank the Gods.

And they had the Athena Parthenon, finally in their grasp. They could unite the camps, stop at least one of the brewing wars. Annabeth was actually surprised that things had gone so smoothly, aside from her broken ankle, but she dismissed that.

She had taken some ambrosia, warming her up from the inside with the taste of the Jackson's blue chocolate chip pancakes, but it still twinged, despite her makeshift cast. Turns out bubble wrap just wasn't good for broken bones. Who knew?

The area around them was a wreck. Cracks crept up the grey walls, parts of the ceiling completely missing, revealing the Argo II hovering above. The brightly coloured tapestries around them were torn and some were quietly burning. Annabeth's gaze wandered amongst them, frowning as she saw Percy in quite a few of them, a tsunami at his back in one, a strange sword in his hand in another, burning green eyes trained on her from every viewpoint. It was slightly unsettling. The remaining floor had spiderweb cracks covering every inch, and Jason seemed to be hovering slightly, the tips of his trainers barely grazing, uneasy of the fragile surface. Percy stood next to her, his calloused hand holding her own. He was also watching the giant spider plummet, glancing back at her occasionally. Each time he did, she fell a little further for him.

She watched the way his cheek creased when he smiled, which made his eyes swirl with humour, and she couldn't help but reciprocate, squeezing his hand.

She surveyed the rest of the group as they began to walk to the ship; they seemed fine, just a little tired, only a few of them in their armour. Piper had her cornucopia swung victoriously over one shoulder and Jason's hand tightly in her own. Frank and Hazel were walking closely together too. A spike of pain shot up her ankle, and she shook her head to try and clear her mind. She probably needed medical attention, to actually set the bone right, and she filed it away in her mind under 'Things to do later'. She glanced up into the sky, or more importantly, the huge floating blob in the middle of it. The Athena Parthenon was loaded up and ready to go on the Argo II, courtesy of Nico and Leo.

But as much as she wanted to keep watching, Annabeth had to tear her eyes away from the spider falling and turned to walk back to the ship.

Around her, coils of spider silk span round and round in their piles, disappearing down into the pit.

A sharp pain shot up her bad leg again, and she gasped, stumbling slightly.

"What is it?" Percy glanced around from where he was walking in front of her, his expression concerned.

"Nothing." Annabeth said, but it came out as more of a question.

She tried to stagger toward the ladder, but felt a resistance.. Why-?

There was a jolt, and suddenly she was staggering backwards at an alarming rate. Unable to stay upright for long, Annabeth was alarmed to have her legs yanked out from under her and she yelped as she fell on her front.

"Her ankle!" Hazel shouted from the ladder. "Cut it! Cut it!"

Annabeth's mind was woolly from the pain. Cut her ankle?

Apparently Percy didn't realize what Hazel meant either, judging by his twin look of both panic and confusion.

There was another strong tug backwards.

Then something began to drag her toward the pit.

Annabeth scrabbled on the floor for a hand hold, digging in her nails like claws, sliding rapidly backwards, panting in pain and panic.

It was like it was in slow motion; everyone had turned to watch in terror, frozen at the sight.

Everyone except Percy.

Before she could be quickly snatched off the edge, Percy desperately snapped into action and sprinted towards her, diving forwards at the last second.

She saw a flash of bronze, Riptide automatically in his hand and he slashed through the thick webbing. The dragging ceased, and Annabeth clung to the floor, her heart pounding wildly. Next to her, she watched in horror as Percy fell on the ground with a hard thump, Riptide flying out his hand, and the arm Percy had flung out to catch himself with bent. A crude snap filled her blood with ice.

But his momentum was too difficult to stop.

As Annabeth stilled on the frightening edge, legs close to dangling in the abyss, Percy tumbled over it.

Annabeth heard distant screaming before realizing a second later it was her own.

" _Percy_!" she screamed, almost involuntarily.

She scrambled wildly to the edge, poking her head over. Everyone had already began to run forwards to try and help both of them, and they caught up seconds later, hands on Annabeth's shoulders to stop her leaning body from falling in too. Their hearts stopped at the horrifying sight below them.

Percy was far down into the pit, too far away, clinging by his raw fingertips to a small ledge. Annabeth choked a sob as she saw the unnatural angle his arm was on, clearly broken and causing the heavy pants she could hear rising up. She stretched her arms fruitlessly towards him and darted her head about, looking, searching for some way to get him.

Even from her relatively secure position above, she could feel the unnatural gravity from Tartarus, dust from the stones around them being sucked over the precipice like a hoover. How Percy could hold on, she had no idea.

He was clearly having trouble- his broken arm was locked painfully, his face shadowed, shaking and gasping as he supported his full weight. His legs scrabbled madly against the walls, trying to gain leverage. But the once rugged stone was now smooth, like black glass.

Tartarus wanted Percy.

"Percy!" Annabeth shrieked.

"Annabeth." Percy grunted loudly, face purple with pain and exertion.

Annabeth wracked her brain, come on, come on- she was supposed to be smart, wisdom and logic, a daughter of Athena, dammit-

A rumble echoed up from the void making them all flinch. A snarl and a dark laugh mixed together. Percy shuddered with fatigue. And Annabeth's heart broke.

"Percy, just hold on, just please hold on-"

She was begging, hot tears sliding down her cheeks and dripping off her nose into the darkness. Was there any more silk they could use as a ladder? She looked about madly, cursing again and again. It had all fallen down the hole. Next to her, Nico also leaned over the edge of the chasm, thrusting out his hand, but he was much too far away to help.

Her breathing was fast and erratic.

Percy tilted his head upwards with what seemed like a lot of effort, and she realized it was all he could do not to black out. His face was gaunt, scraped and bloody, his hair dusted with cobwebs, but when he locked eyes with her, she thought he had never looked more handsome.

"Annabeth!" he yelled and painfully redid his shaky hold "Nico."

His voice came out louder and stronger and she gulped down her sobs to listen. Nico leant his head over. His face was filled with childlike fear.

"The Doors of Death!" Percy shouted.

Nico's eyes widened, and Annabeth began to shake her head from side to side.

"Per-!" he started.

"I'll meet you there! I'll cut the chains!" Percy continued, his voice getting weaker, trailing off.

She saw his broken arm start to tremble, and he withdrew it towards himself, tucking it to his torso with a soft groan, as if he was trying to keep it attached to him. He was only supported by one stretched and desperately shaking arm, knuckles stark white and sticking out. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Get them to the Doors, Nico. Promise me!"

"Per-"

"You _have_ to promise me!" Percy yelled determinedly, his voice cracking. Nico nodded, tears of his own also falling, his hand still outstretched as if he had forgotten it was there, hanging in the dead air.

"I promise." he whispered, not that much louder than the hissing from the pit.

Percy nodded jerkily, his face tight.

Annabeth still had a cold hand extended towards him.

" _Percy_." she stuttered, not fully coherent.

"I love you Annabeth. I'll come back. I'll find you again. I _promise_." Percy gasped the last part out, legs still weakly kicking.

Annabeth's breath hitched.

"I love you too, Seaweed Brain." she sobbed. An oath to keep with a final breath- was this part of the prophecy?

Percy tried to smile reassuringly, even as he relaxed his wrenched fingers, and they slipped off the ledge. She heard Nico and Hazel still screaming for help. She saw his glinting eyes far, far below, aware that this could be the last time she would ever see them.

He made no sound as he fell.

Tartarus. Not even the Gods went down there. And Percy was alone.

She couldn't help it. She broke down into heart wrenching sobs as he disappeared into the black, hunching herself over as a howl of rage tore out of her. Part of the floor broke away on the other side of the void, the room starting to shake. A trembling hand entered her blurry vision, and patted her heaving shoulders. She saw blonde hair through her tears. It was Jason.

"Annabeth-" he started, still staring blankly at the abyss. He appeared to be struggling for words, and Annabeth felt like scoffing. Of course he was. What do you say to someone who just saw someone they love fall into literal hell? Annabeth wouldn't know what to say either. She didn't even know what to say now.

She started crying with more vigour, unable and unwilling to hold it in anymore. She heard Jason try again, his voice wobbling.

"Annabeth it, it isn't safe. The floor- we, we need to go."

Annabeth could hear the sense, could hear the logic, but shook her head. She couldn't leave Percy. He could still come back.

"Oh Gods." breathed another voice, Piper.

Annabeth looked up shakily through spiky eyelashes. She followed a pointed finger towards the floor and inhaled sharply.

Riptide.

Percy's sword. It should have reappeared by now. The magic... must not work in Tartarus. He would have needed to have fallen with it on him. It couldn't transport over the domains. A tear dropped out of her eye straight onto the dirty floor.

Percy was unarmed.

Alone. Injured. Falling.

In Tartarus.

Hazel and Jason had to help her to her feet. Normally, she would push them off, do it herself, but Annabeth felt as if she had just reached her breaking point. She'd just got him back, after eight months of searching, she'd had him in her arms. And now he'd been taken from her again. She had reached the point that her head hurt from crying, and knew she was dehydrating herself, she knew it and she hated it. She couldn't turn her thoughts off.

She wished she didn't know a goddamn thing.

They practically carried her compliant body to the waiting ship.

Leo I

Leo shifted uncomfortably by the ladder. He darted forward and picked up Riptide. He would keep it safe for Percy, when he got back. If he got back. No, no. He would. Leo shook his head; he couldn't believe it. Percy seemed like the type of guy who was polished, indestructible. He would make it through Tartarus, he had to. He was the son of Poseidon, for Hades' sake. Kid of one of the Big Three. That had to mean something.

He tried not to think about it. He felt guilty Percy had fallen into Tartarus. Leo knew it was his fault. He should have gotten everyone safely on board the Argo II before he started securing the statue. He should have realized the cavern floor was unstable.

He stood back and watched as Jason used his air powers to support a crumpling Annabeth on the ladder. She looked devastated, and Leo truly felt sorry for her and Percy.

Nico followed her, refusing help with a death glare. It would have been effective if he wasn't crying too. Silent tears fell down his face, and he brushed them off roughly with his jacket sleeve. He looked a lot younger than he acted.

Hazel nudged him; her eyes glassy. Leo snapped into action. He bypassed the ladder to reach his own private ladder, summoned by a device on his toolbelt. More of the floor was cracking away; it was about to collapse, and the further they got away from a massive hole leading to certain death- Leo winced; not _certain_ \- the better.

Grabbing a Wii nunchuck, he jerked it upwards, getting the heavy ship away from the floor and away frontage whole building. Frank and Piper came to stand by him. Both looked in shock, and sniffed occasionally, but otherwise remained silent, as they flew away. Until:

"Annabeth's asleep." mumbled Hazel, stumbling through a doorway. "Nico too."

Coach Hedge looked miserable. He kept pacing the deck with tears in his eyes, pulling at his goatee and slapping the side of his head, muttering, "I should have saved him! I should have blown up more stuff!"

He looked terrified at the thought of Tartarus.

Leo remembered Nico's words about Tartarus and the Doors. He said that Gaea's minions are at their strongest in Tartarus and could reform almost as soon as they were killed. He frowned. That would be a big problem, if Percy even survived the fall. Nico had told them, that in order to reset the Doors of Death, so that monsters couldn't just come straight back, someone must physically go into Tartarus and cut the chains on that side, as well as their side. But had also Nico said it was practically impossible as even he, a son of Hades, barely survived Tartarus. None of the Gods, including Thanatos, the God of Death himself, would go there.

But now Percy was down there, facing the task.

Although he had huge respect for the guy, Leo couldn't shake the feeling that they wouldn't see Percy again. It was Tartarus. The hell of hell, pit of despair, the very bottom of the Underworld, et cetera, et cetera. He was still just a teenager, despite how powerful he was. Nico nearly went insane in Tartarus. He told him that time moved differently- there wasn't really a way to keep track. A day up here could be a week, a month, a year down there. He kept his depressing thoughts to himself though as more people came into the deck.

Frank wrapped Hazel up in a bear hug and she burrowed into him. Piper rested her head on Leo's shoulder as he got them flying at a slightly quicker pace.

"Where are we going again?" he asked.

"Back to Camp Half Blood," Annabeth answered from the door. Everyone turned around as she stepped through. Her face was blotchy and her eyes were still wet. Leo thought that she could do with going back to sleep. She continued. "We need to get as much help as possible for the Doors of Death. And we need the Gods. Now we have the Parthenon, we can unite the camps."

"Won't we run out of time?" Leo said. "How long until Gaea is supposed to rise?"

"I don't know. Maybe a month? A couple weeks, max?" Annabeth rubbed her temples, "We just have to form a truce between Romans and Greeks so that the Gods won't have identity crisis anymore. They can help us find Percy and close the Doors of Death."

"Easy, then." Leo said dryly, trying to add some light to the day. No-one laughed. Typical. Though even he didn't feel like laughing. "Anyway," he added hastily "Where are these Doors of Death then?"

"Nico knows but he's asleep." responded Piper. Hazel raised her head in the corner of Leo's eye, looking like large weights were clinging to her eyes.

"I know where they are." Hazel said. "They're chained down in the House of Hades. It's an underground temple in Epirus."

Leo blinked. "And where's that?" he whispered to Piper.

"Greece." Piper told him quietly.

Leo pulled a screen out from nowhere- it was always handy to have a spare screen for whatever use. He typed in the co-ordinates quickly, fingers tapping soothingly against the thick glass, or at least that's what Leo thought. It was probably annoying to the others. It loaded for a few seconds before results flashed up.

"From where we are now, Rome, to New York is about- yikes, seven thousand kilometres. That means, travelling at our current pace..." Leo tapped a few calculations out on the interactive glass. "We should arrive in just over a week."

"But then we've got to come back as well." Piper reminded. She was chewing on her lip.

"Double it- just under three weeks. Then add how long it takes to get from Rome to Epirus…"

More tapping.

"…add another day or so. Overall, it'll take us about how long you said to grab soldiers, get the Gods, and then fly back across the ocean to meet Percy at the Doors of Death."

"There's got to be a better way." Frank said, running his hands through his hair. Leo frowned. Why was he suddenly in charge? Gods, he missed Percy already. Annabeth turned to him with a determined glint in her grey eyes that Leo knew by now meant she wanted something from him.

"Fine," Leo held up his hands in surrender, "Theoretically, we _could_ go faster. But we got some serious hits to the ship. I'll get to fixing it straight away, but I don't think we can suffer too many attacks without parts starting to break."

"We don't know long it will take Percy to reach the Doors." Hazel added sadly, looking like she was trying to remember everything Nico had told her

Annabeth bit her lip, torn. "I mean, I'd like to go straight to the Doors to get him. But logically, we'd better have the Gods on our side before rushing in there. We might get trapped or overrun. More people the better, even if there's only seven of us in this stupid prophecy."

Leo was slightly confused at everything going on, but threw everything aside to focus purely on the numbers and the mechanics. That's what he was here for, after all. They had to get back to Camp quickly. Okay. He could do that.

With a flick of a button, a side-step of a dance mat and a swish of a Wii remote, they shot back across Italy, heading for Camp.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **It's hard to write in the style of Mr Riordan. Not exactly nailing it, but good enough.**

 **I know that they go straight from Rome to Epirus, but I thought that Annabeth would have different views. Probs be an entire Percy viewpoint next chapter, which will be coming v soon. I haven't got the books with me yet (I borrowed them from a library) so im just using the Wiki. Feel free to point out any plot holes which I may have made- nicely though. I have feelings. Yoyoyo this chapter has been updated and edited 6/11/18, and 30/1/19**


	2. Percy I

**Dang. 6 reviews within like half an hour of posting. I feel v loved. Thank you, loyal fans.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 2

Percy I

Percy kept his eyes open as long as he could, to keep Annabeth in his sight. And when she faded from view, he kept them open just so he could see light. But eventually the air pushed them shut, drying them out immediately, and he was left to his descent in darkness.

He seemed to fall for an age.

At times, the temperature changed; one minute he was plummeting through hot sauna-like air, the next a chilly wind that set his teeth on edge. At other times, he heard noises, clicking and cackling all around him, yet as silent as the dead at others.

He wondered how long he had been falling; he didn't have a good concept on how long it took to freefall through the earth itself, ten minutes or ten days.

The hurtling pushed his bad arm backwards, and in the worse flipping-head-over-heels moments where he had no control, the sheer force of falling wrenched the bone into painful angles. Percy gritted his teeth. He had extended an arm once, fumbling in the dark like a blind man, hoping to at least find some way of slowing his shooting descent, to find some traction, or something.

There was no _way_ he would survive if he landed normally.

He had hoped that the walls would still be smooth, so he could at least hold on to something. But, because the world now seemed to hate him, the surface had shifted again, this time into jagged chunks of rock which tore up the palm of his hand upon contact.

Gaia's voice floated in and out of his head, a lonely whisper he couldn't escape. Sometimes it was crackling laughter, like a lost radio losing signal: "All good things will come to an end, my little pawn." she said, "Be what you will become, you _will_ serve me in the end."

Then silence.

After a few minutes/hours/days- Percy had no idea- he felt a shift below him. Being the son of Poseidon and everything, he knew it was water. Or some kind of distorted version, he added, feeling that it seemed, well, denser than normal water, like the dead sea, only saltier. He gathered his inner strength and pulled it towards himself like an elastic band.

By now, Percy felt like a comet. He needed something to catch him or he'd end up making a crater with a demigod pancake inside.

The feeling of the river got closer and closer until the cavern he was shooting like a lightning bolt down in grew lighter. The light was a dark red, like the glow of fire. Then the rest was revealed.

Red clouds hung around in the air like vaporized blood. The landscape was rocky black plains, punctuated by jagged mountains and fiery chasms. Random sections of ground were just ablaze, flickering wildly in the distance. The river twisting up to catch him was like a snake being charmed out of its box. It was a ribbon of glittering, black liquid with a smell of sulfur. Percy held his breath, readying for impact, not knowing if he could breathe in this type of river.

He hit the column of water head on.

It caught him with a painful slap across the face. Percy gasped. Then inhaled.

Okay, he could breathe! The water was so cold though, Percy felt it seep into his skin. He lowered himself via the inky stream down to the river surface, teeth chattering.

It was okay, he was alive...

Though, what really was the point?

He was stuck down here. Stuck in Tartarus. No one would come get him, everyone would try to kill him, he was basically public enemy number one down here. He may as well paint a target on his forehead to begin with. Was it even worth getting to the doors? Hades, was it even worth getting _out_? Life was just one misery after another. Death, and suffering, torture and pain. Percy felt himself start to sink, so heavy was his soul. He knew he'd never be happy again. Millions of heartbroken voices echoed in his head, as if the river were made of distilled sadness. Percy wanted to retreat into himself. He didn't want to be a demigod, he didn't want to be in a prophecy, he just wanted to be a _normal_ kid. He needed to escape, to go home, hide away from the world, from everyone who wanted something from him, who wanted him to do something for them, from everyone he had failed to save, from everyone he still _would_ fail to save, from Camp Half Blood, from Camp Jupiter, from his family, his friends, from Ann-

Annabeth.

With an upwards snap of his head and a deep gasp of air, his chin just about clearing the water, Percy quickly remembered something.

Annabeth.

How could he forget her?

How could he want to give it all up? His friends, his life, his girlfriend? He had plans with her. Stay together, go to New Rome, and, though he hadn't told her before, maybe they'd have the rest of their future together. Gods, how could he throw her away like that? She made him ridiculously happy, she was beautiful and smart and-

 _Wait_!

What had she told him that one time? About Tartarus, and it's rivers? What was this one? A new understanding dawned on Percy. It was the river Cocytus he was in! Of course- river of _misery_ in Tartarus!

Desperately ignoring the feelings of woe and depression, Percy kicked with all his being, and struggled to the surface where he crawled on all fours out of the murky liquid, spitting it out his mouth and drying his clothes instantly.

While his wetness and depression left, it didn't improve much of his situation.

The floor was like black glass, cutting and digging into his hands and knees, pricking his skin. It was a lot warmer out of the river; a lot warmer. Already, he could feel some sweat beads on his upper lip from the muggy air. Percy shakily stood, unwillingly crying out as he put weight on his broken arm. The water seemed to have set it a little, which was good, but the skin around it was turning a yellowy green, suggesting a deep bruise forming. Okay. Right. Tartarus. He needed to be prepared; he went through his extensive supplies which astonishingly consisted of:

One mangled water bottle strapped to his jeans for emergencies.

That was it.

Well if this wasn't an emergency, Percy didn't know what was. He automatically checked his pockets as well. A frown appeared on his face when he noticed a lack of a certain pen but he wrote it off. It always returned. Percy shrugged. It would probably turn up later.

He coughed slightly, feeling a sharp tickle in the back of his throat, probably from the river water, and scanned the humongous red and black pit. As much as he could see anyway.

Gods, New York could probably fit in this section alone about 10 times. He blinked and looked around, just coming to terms with where he actually was. Holy Hera. He'd never thought…well, he wasn't sure what he had thought. Maybe that Tartarus was empty space, a pit with no bottom. But it was a real place. He wasn't in Kansas anymore.

Percy glanced around, the feeling of being watched prickling up his neck like a spider. Great. Just _great_. That was honestly the exact thing that he needed right now. Deciding not to wait for something to inevitably come and kill him, Percy took a path that lead away from the river. He coughed again, his chest tight.

He had no idea where he was going. Supposed to be monster central and not one monster in sight. He wished he could talk to Annabeth. Not have her down here, of course, just to talk. She'd know what to do. Percy wracked his brains as he walked quickly, hopping over a ridge and weaving around a violent looking red stalagmite. So he had to find the Doors of Death (very appealing name)- well, that was easy enough, he just had to find some monsters and follow them.

Coughing, Percy searched his pockets again, his hands going cold. Riptide wasn't there. This time, he frowned for real. The last time he had it, he had cut the web with it. Did it not make it down to Tartarus? Great. It left Percy unarmed and he began thinking of ways to improvise, rubbing his arms slightly as they tingled, a little painfully.

A roar caught his attention in the far distance and inspiration struck.

He smiled slightly as he remembered the fight with the Minotaur from when he was younger. What did he use as a weapon then? The Minotaur's own horn. That story had been told so many times over campfires, Percy had begun to leave whenever they started it. So what nearby had easily-snapable/sharp features? A stalagmite? A sharp rock? His _shoe_?

Percy snorted to himself but it quickly turned into a splutter as he choked on something. Liquid fell on his hand. Percy glanced down and froze in complete confusion.

His hands were covered in blisters and blood. His gaze followed his arms, and found them covered too. He could see the skin reddening with every breath he took. Every inhale seemed to burn his lungs and a tickling sensation told him blood had just dribbled out of the corner of his mouth. What the-? Was it the river water? The _air_? Some kind of adaptation process? Percy wiped it away and carried on walking, breaking into a hasty sprint everytime he heard a noise.

And there were plenty of noises. Roaring from various different places, fire crackling, thunder in the far distance that sounded eerily like laughter, the crunch of the sharp rocks under his tired feet. And, occasionally, a familiar high-pitched giggle from behind him which would make him spin around to find nothing.

Another river loomed menacingly ahead of Percy.

There were five rivers in Tartarus. That, Percy was one hundred percent sure about. But the names escaped him sometimes.

There was the Styx, the Cocytus, the, uh, the _Lethe_! Something to do with forgetting things. Oh the irony, Percy thought as he tripped over a shard that protruded from the spiky floor, his body getting heavier with each layer of blisters. Two more- the- Aching tum? Whatever. And the last, the one that was rudely unpronounceable and random... Something to do with phlegm.

Percy was pretty sure that the phlegm river was in front of him. This river was a golden colour. It flicked like fire and seemed to be glowing, parts of the glassy ground on the banks melting. A coughing fit overtook Percy and he dropped to his knees. The sharp corners pricked his skin and he could feel more blood coming out of him. Great. The thick air was toxic.

Percy sat, and stared at the water. He hadn't been coughing or blistering when he had been in the Cocytus. Water healed him, didn't it? Why should this be any different? Just because the water... _looked_ a lot like fire, it didn't mean it still wasn't water...did it? Percy narrowed his eyes. He reached out, and dipped a hesitant finger into the twitchy water.

Holy _Hera_ , it burned!

He snatched his ragged hand back but watched, confused, as the burns disappeared. Percy groaned out loud. He'd coughed up blood enough times to know that whatever was happening to him was on the inside.

This was going to suck.

Scooping up enough to roast the palms of his two hands, Percy raised it to his mouth and gulped down the liquid fire. His throat was scorched and he retched, gagging on the taste, throwing out his hands to balance himself as he pulled a face.

"Spicy, yet disgusting."Percy muttered hoarsely, before filling up the crinkled plastic bottle with it.

Gods, Tartarus was lethal without even trying. At least his burns and blisters had healed and his lungs felt emptier. Even his arm seemed slightly more not-broken.

Just out of curiosity, Percy raised a hand and flicked it outwards. The river responded by moving the same way. Percy made a small noise of satisfaction and bottled his fire up. Yeah, it was definitely water, just...spicy.

"Damn, and I was so _hoping_ you'd die from the air."

A chatty voice whined behind him and he spun around, on his feet instantly.

Oh no.

The empousa Kelli stood before him, in all her cheerleader glory, with her red and white striped crop top saying ' _Go Team_!' and her hairy donkey leg that didn't quite fit the look. She had two more behind her, but they had dented shinpads on instead.

"Are they your back up squad?" Percy asked as innocently as he could.

The empousa bared her fangs at him, her true form flickering into view. Percy cringed at her dead white skin, pointed teeth, hoof and her other... bronze... prosthetic... leg. Oh. _Oh_ .Percy almost laughed in her furious face. Oh, now this was going to be a challenge.

"I guess we'll have to kill you ourselves!" Kelli snarled, interrupting Percy's inner plan making.

He held up his index finger to deliberately antagonise her.

"Hold on. I'm thinking." he said.

The empousa stopped stalking forwards and her jaw dropped.

"How _dare_ y-"

"Uh uh, shhh." Percy responded, placing a hand on his chin in a thoughtful pose.

He stroked an imaginary beard, trying to imitate Grover twirling his own wispy one. Kelli seemed as if steam could come out her ears at any second. If looks could kill, he'd be six feet underground. Well, whatever was six feet under the bottom of the underworld.

Kelli'd had enough. She lunged with a shriek, fangs bared, her anger making her sloppy, and Percy ducked to the side.

With a hook of his leg, he swept her legs out from under her. She screamed in frustration as she was flipped. Percy wasted no time- he leant forwards and tugged her fake leg off, broken arm jolting in pain. The leg was jagged along one side from her exploits, sharp enough for what he needed.

The empousai all gaped at him, Kelli still left on the ground trying to get up.

"This should be good enough." Percy mused out loud, and swung it at the nearest monster, catching it across the chest.

It burst into a golden powder that got carried off in some kind of breeze, probably to go respawn somewhere in the burning pit. It made Percy briefly wonder if he'd see it again down in Tartarus.

Kelli screeched, trying to get back up on her one remaining leg, as Percy destroyed the other empousa, who hadn't even made a move to do anything.

He turned to her, grinning, holding his new weapon aloft.

"Beware my new weapon!" he said, shaking it above her wide eyes. "All the Gods fear its power!"

"You have _got_ to be kidding me!" She whined at him, lunging forward to swipe pathetically with her razor sharp claws, wobbling on her one hoof.

Percy's grin widened as he knocked her back, hoisting the bronze leg into the air.

He nodded, face going completely serious.

"I'm just pulling your leg." he said, before swinging her own limb back at her.

She too, exploded, and Percy ducked the cloud of gold that grazed his light t-shirt. He dusted himself off, and looked around, grinning.

"I can't believe no one else _heard_ that." Percy muttered to himself.

Then, flipping the makeshift weapon over his shoulder with his good arm, he kept walking the way he was going.

He had some doors to find.

 **0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Thank you for the reviews!**

 **It's nearly 1am, I need to sleep now. Goodnight/morning!**

 **Yoyoyo edited 6/11/18**


	3. Percy II

**So many reviews in such a short space of time... *drools***

 **I have decided to make the chapter POV ratio: Other characters 1- Percy 2. Just to show the time difference in Tartarus, to show how Percy's time is moving faster. I'm tryna be like 'oh Percy's been down here for ages' without doing that whole 'percy trapped in tartarus for 800 years and when he comes back it's only been like eight minutes up on the surface' type thing.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 3

Percy II

He was no son of Hephaestus, but Percy thought his makeshift sword was pretty cool.

He had used the liquid fire from the river to help melt down Kelli's leg into a passable sword shape. It could now be held easily in one hand and the many stones around him had given an effective way to file the sides and top so they were relatively sharp and sword-like, a rudimentary point.

He swung it around in his good hand, testing out the balance. Or lack of it. It was crude and weighted, but it would do the job, he guessed.

He needed to get himself moving. Bracing himself, he choked down the liquid fire to repair his arm and refilled his bottle to the brim. Percy sighed, sitting on his heels; he hated this place already, he just wanted to go home. After being taken away by Hera for so long, all he'd wanted was to be with his friends and family, but _no_ , of course, he had to be in the prophecy. Didn't he deserve a break?

The sound of a stone being kicked across the ground sharpened his hearing to the left, and his head whipped round. Percy rolled, ducking behind a huge rock, pulling his bruised arm close, and peered out, ready to strike.

It was a single dracaena.

It wandered close, looking around, and made eye contact with Percy. It's eyes widened. It span and quickly fled, disappearing over a ridge. Percy twitched the corner of his mouth. He didn't think he was _that_ intimidating.

However, it quickly became apparent that it was not him that the dracaena had fled from, Percy realized, as the large rock he was behind twitched.

It started to move. A long thick leg unfurled, as long as a car. Then seven more. Oh, you had to be kidding me, he thought.

Percy scrambled backwards as a waking Arachne unfolded. She had probably just respawned from the fall, a circle of gold dust circling her body like halo.

Percy growled as anger rose in him.

It was _her_ fault he was in Tartarus. It was _her_ fault he'd been forced to abandon the quest and his friends. And worse of all, it was _her_ fault Annabeth had been hurt.

Eyes narrowing, Percy darted forwards before she could stand and register him. Raising his sword high, he plunged his weapon into her abdomen.

She screeched, surprised. "Wha- _AUGH_!"

She burst into an eruption of gold dust, and it swirled away over his head to go respawn somewhere else. Percy furrowed his brow angrily.

Her death shout had attracted the reluctant dracaena back, its head popping into view. It seemed to grin menacingly as it saw the giant spider gone from sight, red eyes glowing like the mist that seemed to cover the entire cavern. It advanced on Percy, coming down the ridge with raised claws, probably thinking he was an easy kill.

"A demigod in Tartarus? You're making it too easy." It crowed, laughing throatily at him.

But Percy was still full of revenge type fury. Arachne had died too slowly. What, she ruined his life and hurt people he loved, and she just got to go _poof_ and respawn quick as a flash, as if it hadn't even happened? No, that wasn't fair. She deserved worse.

He swung at the monster that ducked and lunged for his chest, ripping a small hole in his t-shirt. Percy parried the blow, returning with an instinctual jab sequence. He caught it on the arm and it roared in pain, hunching over.

"You little-!"

Whatever it was about to say was cut off in a poof of dust.

Percy kicked at the dust moodily, sending up a small puff. Still too quick. In fact, every monster seemed to die too quickly. He was feeling vengeful; he needed a good fight, and he couldn't get that if they couldn't fight through a stab wound. And they barely even bled, if they did at all. There wasn't anything- Percy didn't want to use the word satisfying, but it fit how he felt.

There was a growl to the side, and Percy turned his head. He lifted his sword. A large group of monsters, more dracaena, attracted by screams, charged forward out of nowhere, a stampede of claws and fangs. Percy tried to not let them surround him, but they closed in too quickly, like a curtain they were shutting off escape. Percy hacked and slashed at the closest ones, but these monsters were quick and worked well together. They moved with a combination of walking and slithering, like stepping on living skis, Percy thought, and it made their movements sporadic and unnatural.

Percy was a skilled fighter, he knew that, but there were too many and the air was getting to him again, like swallowing a handful of tiny cheese graters.

"Where's your little blonde princess, hero?"

A monster snarled sadistically in his ear as he dodged a potentially lethal swipe across the throat by a millimetre.

A wave of rage shattered a wall like glass in Percy's mind, and he slashed into the monster that had said it with vindictive pleasure. Where did they get off saying that to him? Percy lunged again and again, stabbing and hacking. He could hear his blood beating in his ears...

He had something dripping on him, and he shook his arm, trying to get it off. Was there a river nearby? A river above? Some twisted Tartarus version of rain? Whatever it was, he could use it.

So, as Percy slashed and dodged, he searched for the feeling of nearby water with an outstretched hand and pulled onto it as hard as he could. It felt _weird_ , like a thick and warm water, almost pulsating, like some kind of live milkshake, but Percy kept pulling. It was strangely difficult to summon it, like pulling a branch off a tree, but he just assumed that the water in Tartarus just felt different.

Suddenly, in the middle of their intense group attack, a few dracaenae dropped to the ground like stones, writhing in pain as a fog of nausea rolled through Percy like a tank.

 _Whoa_.

What was that?

The rest took a step back in shock as Percy stood up. His hand was shaking in the air; he didn't let go.

Was that _him_? Did he have a hold on their blood?

Percy vaguely knew what blood felt like, but he had thought that the water just felt different. But it wasn't water. It was their blood.

He snatched his hand back towards him from where it was stretched out, and tucked it close to his chest in shock.

He felt weird; his whole body tingled with power, but the anger was subsiding under his surprise. The broken glass inside him was beginning to smooth at the edges.

The traumatized monsters scrambled to their feet and, with blatant fear smeared across their faces, they ran off.

The rest stood around, not really sure what to do. They had given him a wide berth. It was solved quickly as one of them made a move towards a tired Percy again, seeing an opening. Percy raised his sword weakly but as it turned out, he didn't need to do anything.

A large shadow fell from the sky, crushing and killing the rest instantly.

Percy shielded his face, staggering backwards before peeking at the being quickly. He almost fell over in shock.

It was Iapetus, a titan that Percy had met before.

He was released from Tartarus by Ethan Nakamura during the last titan war. He had battled Percy, Nico and Thalia and was almost winning, but Percy had grabbed Iapetus and pulled the both of them in the River Lethe. When Iapetus came out, mind blank as a slate, Percy convinced him that his name was 'Bob' and that they were good friends. Percy's memory was fine, as being the son of Poseidon and everything; he had manipulated the water so he didn't actually touch the river. 'Bob' turned out to be quite a decent guy after forgetting himself and Percy was pretty sure he had been given a job in the Underworld, this time for the good of the Olympians. He'd meant to check in, but Hera had other plans. And now here he was.

"Uh… _Bob_?" Percy ventured uncertainly.

The guy had just saved his life, right? He couldn't be too bad.

The ten foot titan turned round, his silvery hair and eyes shining with the red glow of Tartarus. In his hand, he clutched a broom with a sharp spear head on top. He would have looked very intimidating, if he hadn't been smiling widely.

" _Percy_!" The titan exclaimed excitedly. "You came back!"

Percy nodded. He didn't seem to remember his Iapetus side. That was good. He could work with that. He decided to ask Bob for directions, as he probably knew the area well.

"Bob? Do you know the way to the Doors of Death?" Percy said cautiously.

The titan bounced his head up and down like a child.

"It's pretty far from here."

Percy's heart sank. Damn, he thought it would be close. Controlling the blood had tired him more than he thought. He still didn't know how to think about that; he was torn. On one hand, they were just monsters, and he didn't even mean to, he had thought it was water. But on the other, it seemed... wrong? Percy wasn't sure. He'd ask Annabeth if he could, but he wasn't sure what she'd say. Percy decided to remain carefully neutral on it.

"Is there any chance you could take me there?" Percy questioned him.

Bob shrugged. Gritting his teeth, Percy put on his persuasion face.

"But we're friends Bob!" he tried.

"We are friends." The titan agreed, nodding.

"That's what friends do- they help each other, right?"

Bob looked unsure.

"I'd help you if you needed me, Bob." Percy said. "Would you help me?"

The titan nodded again, this time with a determined look, and Percy tried not to frown at the similarity between him and all the other titans.

"Yes, yes! I will take you to the Doors."

"That's great." Percy said, covering his weary expression.

He just wanted to sleep. He was bruised and his arm still felt funny, the skin getting darker and darker every second.

"But we need to have a detour." Percy added as an idea struck him. "There's something I've gotta do first."

He told Bob where they needed to go and the titan beamed and set off, Percy following loosely behind him.

It was a ridiculous idea, but he knew it would help, not just down here but with the whole prophecy. He still had his mother's blessing too. He let himself sink into thought. He would know when they were there. It was made of water, after all.

Percy was going to find the river Styx again, and return the Achilles blessing.

Then he would find the Doors of Death and get back to Annabeth.

Nothing was going to stop him.

 _Nothing_.

 **0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **YAY BOB! My hands are really cold from typing and I got all y'all wanting an update. So here it is! Eat up, you ravenous Percy Jackson fans!**

 **Yoyoyo edited 7/11/18**


	4. Annabeth II

**Ughhh... Go home and play streets of rage 3, kiddos. I just played it for like 7 hours in a row, jeez.**

 **Here's the new chapter. I'm so so so so so so so so so so sorry for the wait, Christmas has been hectic and this story has no plan, it's all improv. If you have any ideas for where it should go, please review. I'll try to update more regularly from now on.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 4

Annabeth II

Annabeth groaned and let her head fall into her arms.

They had about five more days until they got back to camp. She had been sat at her desk for a solid two days, searching her laptop for something, _anything_ on Tartarus. She'd researched myths, facts, eyewitness accounts that she could tell were fake but read anyway, until her back creaked with a locked strain that only the ADHD hyperfixation could give her.

There _had_ to be a way to get Percy back.

A knock on her door had her blinking blearily at the outline of Piper. Her eyes burned at the sudden revelation that her lights were on. Piper came in, worry on her angular face, and she placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Annabeth, you need to eat." Piper said, firmly yet softly.

"No." Annabeth shook her head insistently, gesturing to the piles and piles of paper strewn across her table. "Not until I find at least _one_ thing we can use."

Piper's face creased with concern. She took Annabeth's hand gently, cold from all the typing on Daedalus' keyboard, and tugged a compliant Annabeth out of her seat. Her back was so scrunched, she sighed out loud as everything aligned back into place.

"No, Annabeth." Piper told her, looking regretful, "You _need_ to eat and then sleep."

Annabeth dimly heard a faint melody caressing her eardrums, before she found herself obediently nodding.

It really hit her how much she needed to eat and then sleep all of a sudden. Why hadn't she seen this before? It was just silly not to.

It was only a few minutes later that Annabeth became more aware of what she was doing. She blinked and the image of the dining room wafted into view, and the coldness of the metal cutlery in her hands sank into her skin, conversation sharpening into noise around her, the taste of soy sauce resting in her mouth.

She blinked again.

"You _tricked_ me!" she accused a guilty looking Piper across the table.

All conversation fell silent, and they shifted nervously.

"Annabeth, you needed to eat-" Jason started.

"And I would have!" Annabeth found herself raising her voice, "When I'd found something! Something _useful_ , that we could do something with! But until that time, I was going to work."

"It's been two days, we were worried-" Hazel reasoned, and as much as she tried, Annabeth couldn't calm down.

" _What_? That I couldn't take care of myself?" she asked them.

"That's not what we-"

"That I'm that helpless without _him_ that I don't have enough common sense to function?"

It didn't go unnoticed that she skipped his name, and Leo and Jason exchanged a glance across the table.

"We just wanted you to come sit down and-" Piper didn't get far before Annabeth cut her off again, unwilling to listen to anyone's reasons but her own.

"No! _Okay_? I don't have time to sit down and play happy families! He's in Tartarus. _Tartarus_. I may not have found a way for him to get out, but I did discover one thing. Did you know that time passes differently down there? One day is like the equivalent to about a week, or longer!"

She noticed Hazel and Nico shifting slightly.

"Did you know this?" she rounded on them angrily.

"Yes," Nico said flatly. "I've been there, remember?"

Annabeth cooled off a bit but she leant forwards. Nico knew and she had to as well. She needed to know everything she could to help Percy.

She tried to phrase it delicately but thought it would be better to say it outright than hop around the question.

"What was it like? For a demigod?" She asked, not even really trying to cover her thirst for answers.

Nico hesitated, and everyone turned to him and scowled, dark eyes flashing as he crossed his arms.

"It was bad, you know it is. It's _literally_ hell. I was in there for a few days, I think, on the surface at least."

Annabeth knew she shouldn't, but she pressed on. "Yes, but what was it like?"

Nico scowled harder.

"I don't know, I fought a hell of a ton of monsters, then got kidnapped by some crazy cyclopes obsessed with their show. It was dark and it was hot and I barely slept, everything tried to kill me and I nearly went insane. Happy?"

With that he pushed away his chair, which fell on its back with a bang, and strode out the door. Hazel slipped out after him, sending Annabeth a disapproving frown.

There was an awkward silence lingering after. Annabeth sat down, all the indignation going out of her. These were her friends. She shouldn't fight them. They were just as unhappy as she was, and each of them had cried their fair share in the first few days. She had heard Jason and Frank blame themselves harshly, saying that they both should have flown down to go catch him, even though Nico had assured them that they would have been sucked down too, which would have been even worse.

"It just feels like no one else wants to get Percy out earlier." Annabeth mumbled.

"Of course we do Annabeth, but there isn't really anything we can do until we have the Gods back." Piper placated.

"I know that!" Annabeth snapped, but winced after. "Sorry, I-"

A loud crash echoed from the deck above them. Their heads snapped up and weapons were drawn instantly. Annabeth gripped Riptide warily. She had kept it with her since it had been left. It was vaguely comforting, like a bit of him was still here.

Taking the lead, Jason gestured for them to go behind him, before he threw himself up the stairs and the rest followed.

On the deck, Hazel and Nico were already fighting, blurs of black and gold. A strange crew had boarded seemingly from nowhere, trying to attack their ship. Annabeth, desperate for any action to take her mind off of Percy, jumped straight in.

There was quite an assortment, a dracaenae, some empousai and a hellhound. That was quickly dealt with by Nico though, who sent it back to his father with a snap of his fingers.

"Fight _me_ , you ugly looking skunk!" Coach Hedge yelled as he waved his bat around his head, before clocking a dracaenae across the jaw.

Jason ran through an empousai in a satisfying burst of gold as Annabeth drew the last one into a fight.

"Think you're missing someone aren't you?"

The remaining monsters howled in laughter as her opponent mocked her.

"Shut up!"Annabeth shouted, lunging at the head.

"Annabeth behind you!" Frank shouted and the next thing the monster who had been sneaking up behind her knew, an eagle dragged it over the side of the ship.

The empousai blocked her jab but Annabeth was already following it up with a skilled disarm.

"You know he's all on his own down there!" The empousai snarled.

"I know."Annabeth gritted out, swinging violently.

"He's going to _die_ _alone_ " It hissed.

"No, he's _not_!" Annabeth screamed and jumped on top of the monster.

The move caught it by surprise, as Annabeth pushed it down, and it's weapon clattered across the deck. Whether it was distracted or just in shock that a daughter of Athena would do such a reckless thing, it made no difference when Annabeth held a sword against it's throat.

"Tell me where he is!" She shouted, as Leo killed the last of the others with a small burst of fire.

They crowded round the pinned empousai, who's clothing seemed familiar, and Annabeth felt eyes on her, ignoring them.

"He's in Tartarus." The monster laughed beneath her.

"I _know_ that!" Annabeth yelled, Riptide at its throat. " _Where_ is he down there? Is he _okay_? Is he close to the doors?"

The empousai laughed.

"He won't make it to the doors!"

"Why?" Annabeth said, digging her knee into a sensitive point in the torso above the donkey leg. It gasped.

"The air is killing him, the monsters are going to kill him and the fall nearly killed him. Add that to the fact that he's pretty much unarmed, well... you'll never see your precious boyfriend again!"

"Pretty much unarmed?" Annabeth tried to tune out the rest and focus on the odd phrase. "Does that mean he is sort of armed?"

"He left his magic sword up here, didn't he?" The empousai smiled sickly.

It nodded towards the sword at it's throat.

"That's it, isn't it? Jackson's sword."

Annabeth readjusted her grip on Riptide and dug the point in as far as it could go without killing it.

"That's not what I asked. Does he or does he not have a weapon?"

"Don't you recognise me?" it replied instead.

Annabeth knew it was stalling for time but blinked a bit to clear her tunnel vision. She only had to glance at the uniform.

"Kelli." she said icily. "I can't say it's a pleasure. Now answer me. Does Percy have a weapon?"

"He didn't when we attacked him." Kelli cackled.

"What? You've seen him?" Annabeth shouted, eyes wide. "How is he?"

"Oh, now he didn't look too good," Kelli squeaked as Annabeth dug her knee in again, "His arm is broken and he was coughing up blood. It's really not a good sign, demigod..." Kelly trailed off teasingly.

"Wait." Annabeth said, a few things clicking in her head. "You... attacked him. But now you're here. You didn't kill him. He killed _you_ , didn't he?" she smiled for the first time in a few days. "He killed you without a weapon!"

"He had a weapon!" She snapped, all mocking gone, replaced by angry indignation. "The little brat stole my metal leg and killed my friends with it and then me! He killed me with my own leg!" She wailed.

"He's armed. He can fight. Thank you for your time." Annabeth said coolly before stabbing her, and getting up.

" _Now_ , we have information. _Now_ , we can have dinner." she said, significantly more relaxed and yet more worried. She took a breath.

"He's injured but not enough to fight. That's good. That's good."

"That's great." Hazel said soothingly. "This is Percy, he can fight his way through anything."

"At least we know now that he survived the fall." Jason said.

"I would've known if he had died." Nico reluctantly spoke up.

Annabeth's head snapped up. Her legs wobbled a bit from exhaustion.

"Nico, I need updates, every day, whenever you feel any difference." she told him quickly.

Nico groaned.

"I knew you would say that."

"So?" Annabeth suddenly shouted, all the adrenaline of the fight riling her up again.

They stared at her, and she swallowed.

"Look, I'm _sorry_ , I just- I-"

They looked at her with such understanding that a lump formed in her throat, and she couldn't take it anymore. She turned and walked quickly off, tears welling on her eyes, the water being an ironic reminder of him. Gods her emotions were a wreck nowadays. She heard a quiet buzz of conversation behind her, before footsteps echoed, catching he up.

"I don't want to talk right now." She said succinctly. "In fact, I need to iris message Sally. I think she should know where her only son is." She sniffed loudly at the end, not making eye contact.

"That's fine. I'll come with you."

"No! I don't need a chaperone!" Annabeth shouted in a wobbling voice, turning the corner towards the bedrooms.

"I'm not a chaperone, _Gods_ no. I'm just a friend, here to help you break bad news."

"Fine." Annabeth said bluntly, too drained to argue any more.

She walked straight into Percy's room. Leo didn't say anything. Not even a Leo style joke, which she was grateful for. A quick root around found a spare drachma under his bed. The duvet still smelt of him.

She threw the coin into the mist created by the small bottle on his bedside drawer.

"O Iris, Goddess of the rainbow, show me SALLY JACKSON."

The following conversation was painful for both sides. Leo was a necessary presence and helped her get through it without crying too many times. Paul comforted Sally on the other side.

Annabeth didn't notice when the message fizzled out, staring at his blue hoodie on his chair with faraway eyes.

Leo held out a hand and she took it, standing up quickly, brushing away tears from her blotchy face.

"You need to sleep." Leo said. "We need you awake and peppy to tell us all off tomorrow."

"I'm sorry for yelling." she sniffled.

"Uh, that's fine." Leo said awkwardly, clearly unsure what to do. "Which one's your room again?"

Annabeth hesitated.

"Here." she decided eventually. She curled up on Percy's bed. Leo shifted from foot to foot.

"Okay, but you're dealing with Coach Hedge. Break his rules and he just goes nuts. You know he threw a baseball at me last time I..."

Leo's voice drifted off as Annabeth slowly fell asleep, the smell of salt and cold air in her nose.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Went ice skating again. This time I only fell over 3 TIMES! Personal best.**

 **Watch San Andreas, the one with The Rock in it. Is v good and has the Annabeth actress in it as well as the original Mr Fantastic.**

 **Please review if you want me to continue.**

 **Yoyoyo updated 7/11/18**


	5. Percy III

**Okay, I lied. The updating was not regular. But I'm halfway through planning like 8 other stories so...**

 **Updating time will rarely be longer than two weeks from now on, 'She says, hoping the writer's block will go away and never come back…'**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 5

Percy III

There were some right _ugly_ suckers in Tartarus, thought Percy, stepping over a sleeping hellhound.

He was in stealth mode; it was still a long way until the river Styx. Bob had told him that the river Phlegethon (not phlegm, as it turns out) flowed from Hades' realm down into Tartarus, and through the whole cavern, but especially close to the Doors. But Percy had left that river behind a couple of weeks ago in order to get to the Styx, he'd have no choice but to double back. And apparently Bob knew a shortcut to Styx.

What he failed to mention, however, was where this shortcut went through.

Hand on his sword, Percy stepped over another snoozing hellhound.

They were honestly huge, lying around in the small chasm he walked through, their snores like the rumbling of thunder. The fact that their fur was pitch black did not help, as the light was even more limited where he was. Every now and then, one would snort, and Percy would freeze, ready to strike at the first sign of those glowing red eyes.

Percy stepped over a paw that was pretty much the exact size of trash can. He felt a pang of loss for Mrs. O'Leary, needing her with him. She'd deal with these for him. If only Bob could have come with him.

Bob's size had prevented him from walking down the dark narrow ravine of jutting red rocks, so he had to take a different way, and with his enormous strides, would probably beat Percy to their rendezvous point. Wherever that was. Percy had been too busy trying to kill an attacking manticore to listen to what Bob was mumbling when he'd told him.

He was sure he'd turn up at some point. He needed him to get to Styx. Nothing else. This was all about getting back to Annabeth, and Percy wasn't here to make friends. Sure, _Bob_ was nice, but Percy couldn't forget how hard _Iapetus_ had tried to kill him and his friends. Bob was useful, for now.

Not picking his feet up worked well to not cause any loud stomping noises. But, as Percy winced, it didn't help when there were loose rocks.

He watched in horror as his foot booted a small stone a few feet, unable to stop it.

The small clacks as it hit the slabs one, twice, three times, hammered into his head.

" _Rrrr_ …"

Out the corner of his wide eyes, Percy saw a hellhound rise from it's previous slump. Others around him were stirring too. He had a few seconds at the most. Scanning desperately, not moving as to alert the drowsy beasts, Percy quickly mapped out a way to climb up to the top of the ravine in his head. He'd jump onto the low ledge, climb, and then he'd have to pull himself up the rest of the way. He'd follow the cliff edge until the end.

Sweat running down his back, Percy slid his sword into his trouser loops slowly.

It cracked against his plastic bottle.

Percy was already sprinting as an eye as red as blood snapped open at the noise.

Practically _throwing_ himself at the steep side, his arms struggled to keep pace with his propelling feet that were scrabbling against the side of the wall, the hellhounds barrelling towards him. Percy found a ledge, and hoisted himself into the air just was they slammed into the cliff below him, barking and howling.

They were fully awake now, snapping at his ankles with teeth like daggers. They were so close; Percy scrabbled onto the ledge he had spotted to try and get away, get higher

Yet Tartarus hated him with a passion.

The solid looking ledge under his feet, once solid, crumbled like sand, leaving him to pull himself up by his hands.

Well, this was familiar…

" _Aaarghh_!"

Percy gritted his teeth as a snapping bite sank into the back of his heel.

His _Achilles_ heel, just to make it ironic.

He wrenched his limb out of the ravenous mouth and pressed it against a small jutting corner, pushing his body up. He was now out of teeth-range and glanced down. The hellhounds were gathered at the bottom, jumping up and snarling, like crocodiles at the bottom of a cliff. Percy grimaced at the feeling of blood dribbling down his foot; it splashed in beads below him, incensing the furious dogs.

They leapt up, but the sounds of their long claws was drowned out by the pulsing in Percy's ears. The blood in his head was whirling around like a storm. He didn't think he had enough energy to pull himself up, his arm, while pretty much healed up, was still shaky at times, the bruises still a dim yellow. A hacking cough erupted from him, nearly dislodging his grip. The air was getting to him. A couple drops of blood spattered across the face of rock in front of him. Praying desperately to…Percy didn't even know (his father maybe?), he let go with one hand.

The full pressure stretching his knuckles, Percy knew he didn't have long. He unhooked his bottle and grimaced. He didn't have much of the river water left. Percy gulped it down and retched. The jolting of his body, while the water did strengthen him a little, made him lose his grip.

Percy grunted as he slid down the side a few metres until he landed, his feet slamming into the floor. His shaky arm withdrew… nothing. Where he was a second ago, his sword was balancing on a rock shelf.

Of course it was.

The hellhounds seemed to grin menacingly as they circled him, all sense of bloodthirstiness gone, replaced with pure satisfaction. They had him pinned, them on one side, the rock cliff on the other. Percy followed them with his eyes as they padded about in front of him, beasts of pure muscle and grit.

There it was again, the feeling of a body of water. Only it was _literally_ a body, or bodies, the hounds in front of them. He didn't know why he was having such a reaction to blood, he guessed he'd never really focused so hard on making sure he got away safely. Tartarus seemed to have amplified his senses.

He could feel each hound in the air individually, feel the blood pumping around their bodies as they got closer and closer. Unsure if it was the right thing to do, Percy hesitated. It was in these types of moments he would have a friend or someone to tell him what he was doing was right, or wrong. Percy was still on the fence about it, but he quickly decided, as one looked about to pounce, that if was going to get out of here, he was going to have to.

There wasn't going to be another way of escape, not in time.

Just as the biggest one drew back to spring on him, jaws slavering, Percy grabbed the beat of blood with an outstretched hand. It was like holding a water balloon aloft, feeling the liquid swoosh from side to side, the weight and density of it.

Instead of a big headache this time, a strange coolness settled over him, with only a twinge at his temples.

He _had_ to do this.

It was him or them.

For Annabeth.

The beast screeched and rolled over, as if trying to scratch fleas out. Digging its head into the ground, it scratched its own paws into its skull, a dreadful whining roar coming out.

Sensing an opportunity, another one reared. Before it had even left the ground, Percy had it writhing, his other hand outstretched now.

"Enough." Percy grunted, blood trickling out of his nostril, and, clenching his fists tightly, the monsters exploded.

Before the others could run, he killed them too. It was easier this time. On the last one, he grabbed the feeling of blood being pumped around the entirety of its body. He pulled and jerked his hand down. The hell hound collapsed to the floor, pinned by an unseen force. When it whined helplessly, Percy blinked and quickly finished it off. That could be useful.

It was really strange; when he held onto blood, he could feel their entire body's movements. It was as if he clenched hard enough, he could pull parts away from each other. Percy grimaced, rubbing his arms. He suddenly found his human body very fragile.

Looking from side to side, Percy could see no more.

At least his energy was rejuvenated from the river. But now there was no more, he'd used it all. He'd have to move quickly, maybe tell Bob to go get some for him. With years of lava wall training now remembered, Percy scaled the cliff partially to grab his sword before carrying on through the bottom of the ravine. He felt like nothing would bother him for a while.

As he walked, he reached up and wiped off the smear of blood under his nose. It was like his head was fighting what he did, though it was just like the equivalent of controlling a small pond. Maybe it was because it was so concentrated, Percy didn't know.

Eventually, the cliffs widened and flattened.

Percy was once again in a flat expanse of nothing, the eerie red mist blanketing further view from any direction. Percy had seen enough horror films when he was younger to resist the urge to shout for the amnesiac titan.

Instead, he found a mediumish rock and plonked himself down, to wait for Bob. Gods, he was taking his time. It wasn't as if he could be _attacked_ at any time or anything.

No, bring it on actually, Percy thought, his mood flipping positive after the hellhound defeat. These could be the best training grounds in the world. Let the monsters come to him, he'd get 'em all.

Deciding to wander about in a circle, just to see if Bob was anywhere, Percy stood up. The ground crunched beneath his feet, disturbing the strange silence that had settled over him. He entered some kind of forest that had appeared out of nowhere. It really didn't seem like it fitted in the cavern-dungeon like place, nature didn't seem to touch this place. There was nothing here that could be regarded as _natural_ , at least.

It certainly played along well with the theme of the place though. Towering black trees soared into the creepy gloom, with bare branches like bony fingers. The wood was mangled and twisted, roots shooting straight down into the ground as if they too were trying to escape the darkness of the pit.

Percy's skin began to crawl and he found himself aware of every little noise or movement, like his hair had been electrocuted and it was sending jolts into his brain. He wasn't sure what had set him off. Eyebrows furrowed and a flat line of a mouth, Percy ceased moving, stopped breathing in. The buzz of the surrounding area filled him until it was broken by a twig snapping.

Percy's head whipped around like a boomerang.

It hit him that he was lost. Completely and utterly. Everything looked the same, in every direction. Another twig snapped, and Percy took out his sword, looking around cautiously.

Nothing looked different but he definitely heard something. But then again, Tartarus does play tricks on the mind-

Again.

A rustle above. The only problem was that Percy couldn't see the top of the branches in the black gloominess over head. He strained his eyes, but nothing move. He dismissed it as him being paranoid but… _was_ he?

 _No_.

He wasn't.

For just as he thought that, a monster fell to the ground like a meteor about ten foot away. It looked strongly like a fury, but Percy knew vividly what they looked like. This one looked off. It was a wrinkled hag with brass talons, bat-like wings and red eyes that glowed similarly to those of a hellhound. In a tattered black dress, her face twisted, it resembled a demonic grandmother.

Another fell behind him. Then a few more until around half a dozen were glaring at him like he was a slab of meat.

"Good morning?" Percy tried. "Or is it night?" He added, confusing himself.

It had been a while since he'd seen sunlight, and he craved the pure warmth it gave out, as opposed to the thick heat in the air of Tartarus.

"Silence!" One of them hissed but Percy honestly couldn't locate who said it, they all looked the same.

"Alright then. No offence or anything, but what are you?"

"We are Arai, the curses. And we are here to destroy you. Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon, Hero of Olympus, lone demigod in this place."

Percy wondered briefly why they avoided saying Tartarus but remembered that names had power. Whatever that meant. Then the rest caught up.

"Woah! _Woah_ \- why are you destroying me?"

"We have orders."

"From who?" he questioned sharply.

Percy was no longer playful. If someone was going to kill him, they usually did it face to face. What was he, a minor annoyance? Percy liked to think he was a _major_ annoyance, thank you very mu-

The demon ladies all took a step forward in tandem, as if one mind controlled them all like puppets. They smiled sickly as if that answered his question. Well that didn't bode well. Percy took out his sword with that satisfying 'shink' noise, holding it aloft so they could all see he wasn't playing around.

Then he got jumped, by a gang of grandmas.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Okay, I'm honestly stumped, any ideas where this should go?**

 **Dammit. Shoulda actually thought about this before posting lmao.**

 **Yoyoyo edited 7/11/18**


	6. Percy IIII

**God, I want to move out. My Uni place is going to be my saviour, gonna do it up all casual and comfy.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 6

Percy IIII

They were creaky, easy targets, right?

 _Wrong_.

Percy swung his sword casually at the nearest Arai, catching it across the chest with a hard strike. As expected, it settled to the ground in a poof of gold. What Percy didn't expect, however, was the invisible smack to the back of the head.

"Wha-?"

Percy fell to a knee, reaching a hand back to clap the back of his head, which was slightly wet. Gods, where had _that_ come from?

One of the Arai chuckled darkly.

"A gift! From Polybotes!"

Percy spat a mouthful of blood to the floor from where he had bitten his lip, standing back up slowly, still pressing a hand to the back of his head.

"Where's the receipt?" Percy said as he felt a warm stream trickle down his neck.

He stood carefully as to not irritate the light wound. He needed to just shake it off, he didn't think he had a concussion or anything. It could have been worse. He pointed the end of his sword at one behind him.

"Did _you_ do that?" Percy snarled at it, seeing that one as the only one who could have got close.

The Arai just stepped forward menacingly, raising its hands. Percy ducked around it, sword raised, this time his back protected, and aimed to lop it's head off. When it hit, pain rippled agonisingly across his chest.

Percy gasped as blood welled up in a strong line along his tattered shirt. It was basically just hanging around his neck and shoulders at this point, ragged and red, torn and dusty from his exploits. It stung but Percy gritted his teeth. Damn, they must have been fast. He didn't even see them move.

"You cannot win!" One of the Arai cried gleefully, as they all advanced on him again, forming a leathery line in front of him

"And why's that?" Percy said, stalling, weighing them up in his mind.

"Do you know _nothing_ of us? For every hit you give us, a worse shall befall you." An Arai started. "One you have caused to another, who has cursed you for such an act."

"You cannot kill us all without killing yourself." Another Arai finished, bat wings flapping in a sick glee.

So, _any_ monster he'd _ever_ killed could come back to haunt him. Great. Percy wondered if a demigod could be reborn in Tartarus. Things worked differently down here; the ground was glassy and pointy, the air poisonous. And he didn't even want to get into the sickening thoughts about what Tartarus really was. Could he theoretically be reborn down here? Percy doubted it, and didn't want to take his chances.

"What if I just killed you all in one go? They've all been minor scratches so far." Percy said, reasoning in his head.

"Fool! We control the curses you get. Like picking from a list. And you, sea scum, have an impressive wealth of curses upon your person. So many rivals defeated, so many denouncing your name to the very darkest corners of the underworld. And many big names. Titans, giants, and, _oh_ , the _minotaur_."

Faster than Percy could react, it leapt onto him, claws slashing across his face, a millimetre from his eyes. Percy had no choice- he kicked it off and, twisting around, he drove his sword up into the thing's ribs. It screeched right into his ear, and Percy jerked his head back at the shrill and piercing noise. It's words caught up to him too late. The minotaur? But that meant-

Sure enough, a shooting pain went under his lung like a partially stuck lance.

Percy staggered.

His hand clutched at the wound, putting as much pressure on it as he could, hand shaking with the effort.

Blood poured this time. It seeped down to the floor. Percy held onto it with his spare arm, and the blood began to trickle out between his fingers, running down his wrists.

No. No, he did not kill a whole pack of hellhounds in a minute just to get taken down by some winged OAPs that he'd never even heard of. It was ironic to be cursed for his past, while fighting for his future.

Percy blew a breath out his nose which resulted in a bloody bubble popping out his nostril.

Dammit, where was Bob? He was a liability and an asset at the same time, and Percy was concerned about just how long his memory would last. He could see aspects of him returning, Tartarus restoring him. He just had to think about how useful Bob would be after Styx.

The Arai were watching his every move with leering smiles. Percy placed his sword between his knees and quickly whipped his shirt off, tugging the frayed collar over his head. He got blood on it from his hands and scoffed at the rag. He'd seen trash cans that looked cleaner. More blood was like throwing a bucket of water in the ocean.

Percy twisted his shirt and wrapped it around his ribs tightly, staunching the flow. He hissed between his teeth as it stung his wound. Then, he retook his sword.

"Right," He said raggedly. "Bring it on, batfaces."

He expected them to attack right away, as any other monster in Tartarus would. But they just circled him, smiling quietly. Percy saw red.

"Come on!" He shouted. "Get it over with!"

Percy had a sort of plan. There was a cliff a few metres behind him. If he could just kick them down, it might not kill them but it would give him time to run. He didn't think this was a battle he could survive.

"I've never even heard of you. What kind of monsters are you?" Percy said suddenly, edging backwards.

"We are unbeatable!" One crowed, unknowingly following him.

"If you're unbeatable, then why have I never seen you on the surface?"

They didn't answer him. Percy blinked.

"You're stuck down here, aren't you?" he realised. "You never make it to the doors."

"We could get out any time we wanted." they snarled at him.

"Well that's a lie. If you could then why don't you?" Percy glanced down at the edge of the cliff, just as the edge of his feet.

They clicked angrily as their eyes blackened and claws rose up to chest height. Percy couldn't restrain a snort.

"Oh right, yeah, you're so scary."

Provoked, the one closest to his left flew into an attack. It aimed for his chest, talons just inches from his heart before Percy grabbed it around the waist and, bracing his feet against its midriff, threw it over his shoulder. It bellowed obscenities at him as it fell. Percy braced himself for any pain but none appeared.

"How dare you!" An Arai screamed. "That was chaos!"

Percy was confused for a second.

It wasn't really chaotic, he thought to himself, it was pretty organised. Then he remembered. Right. _Chaos_. The big daddy. He was over the cliff? Percy stepped forward a bit, realising his foot was literally right on the edge of death.

There were only about four Arai left but any one of them could kill him. This had to be calculated.

"For all your bragging, your friend down there was a pretty easy target. Maybe you're not as good as you think you are."

"Be quiet, Jackson!" One bellowed. "Do not anger us! We will curse you with the worst!"

"Bring it on." Percy replied grimly.

He kinda didn't expect them to all fly at him but he thought it went sort of well.

Yes, he did accidently run one through on instinct, but he couldn't feel anything yet. Maybe it forgot. Two went over the edge immediately, smacking him in the face with their feet before they fell.

Gross.

After the last one, Percy was tired and in pain; he wasn't thinking. The last one lunged for him, and Percy, face paling due to blood loss, just levelled his sword to go straight through it's head.

He slumped to his knees, relieved to be rid of the whirlwind of monsters around him.

He breathed out heavily.

 _Crunch_.

Percy stifled a shout of agony by biting his lip, which split.

His leg had been absolutely fine about a second ago. Now, he could see his bone in about three places. Percy ran shaking hands over the screaming mangled mess that was his leg. How did-? Who? Why?

Who in the name of _Hades_ had cursed him with a crushed leg? Who had he crushed to death? Percy moved away from the edge of Chaos slowly, wincing in pain as his leg weeped blood to the floor.

Who had he crushed? Some kind of rockslide?- Oh.

He knew.

It was when he blew up Mt St Helens with that earthquake. Telkhines. He had pretty much buried a couple hundred alive. One of those little dog faced douchebags had cursed him? Percy raised his hands and just... huffed out a short confused breath, gesturing palms up. What the Hades was he supposed to do now?

He pushed his blood back into his leg without thinking about it and tried to straighten his leg. Nope. Nope. _Bad_ idea. Bad bad bad nope nope. No move. Move equals bad. Percy lowered himself down with shaky arms. Well. He chewed his lip.

"Percy!"

A shout of his name had Percy raise his sword with a painful-beyond-words pain ricocheting around his leg and chest. He let it fall once he saw who it was.

"Bob." Percy croaked as the titan shuffled forwards.

"Percy, your leg is strange."

"I know." Percy gritted out, hands holding his thigh to stop it from twitching and spasming, which felt like volts of electricity running up and down his leg. "Bob... Pass me a branch from a tree."

Bob obediently turned round and ripped half a tree off, ripping it down to one reasonable looking branch.

Percy couldn't think. What did he need to do, what did he need to do? Not to mention that there was still a curse left. One that hadn't appeared yet. Fun. Percy leant forwards, sucking a breath in at his midsection pain (which still needs to be treated, he reminded himself), and eased his shoe off. He peeled off a sock before trying to do the other.

Too much, too much.

Percy's eyes rolled back and he slid bonelessly to the floor.

...

...

"-cy"

"Nggh."

"-ercy!"

"Whaa..."

" _Percy_!"

"What? What?"

Percy's eyes snapped open, the dim red glow of Tartarus making him squint. For a brief second, he was cool and numb and thinking of Annabeth.

Then it came back.

"Urgh!"

Percy bit his tongue and propped himself up on his elbows.

"You went to sleep." Bob stated simply.

"For how long?" Percy said, slightly irritated.

"Time is different." Bob shrugged before his eyes wandered, seeing things only he could see.

"Great." Percy shot the word like a bullet as he reached out for the straight beam of wood.

It took longer than he wanted but he eventually got both his socks off. Even his foot was uneven and bloody. Sliding his shoes on was a task in itself.

Percy aligned his destroyed leg with the spiky branch, setting it in place with a cry and a crack before he wound his thankfully stretchy socks around them, securing it with a thick knot. It might not do anything but he needed it to set sort of right. The pain was heavy and white.

"Help me up Bob please." Percy grunted at the hovering titan, sweat dropping down his face.

Bob sprung into action, tugging Percy to his feet gently. It was a wobbly process. Once upright, Percy leaned his weight onto his right leg.

And almost fell again.

Luckily Bob caught him. Percy's face was now deathly white, making the bruises and cuts stand out dramatically. His chest burned in pain, every breath like inhaling glass particles. Percy crumpled again.

"I will carry you." Bob decided as Percy's face shook and he curled his hands up into fists to stop them from jerking.

"No, I'm fine, I..." Percy crumpled again, "...yeah, okay."

Percy was too tired to feel embarrassed as Bob swept him up, hooking his large arms under Percy's knees and back. His leg jutted out, strapped tightly to the branch. The rocking motion was soporific; Percy began to feel his eyes close. The last thing he heard was:

"I know someone who can help..."

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Okay. I have a kind of general outline sorta. One thing-**

 **Should Percy get the Achilles' blessing or nah?**

 **Yoyoyo edited 8/11/18**


	7. Jason I

**So I was watching a film, I won't say which until I've finished writing, and a fic idea hit me. BAM! It's brilliant, and I started straight away, which is why I wasn't working on this. But siriusly, once I post chapter 1, you'll understand. I've written sooo goddamn much, the introduction is like 40 pages long so far.**

 **Kay kay, here ya go soz I waffled.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 7

Jason I

Jason landed on the decking of the ship, stumbling slightly.

He had been flying ahead for a couple of days now, zooming through the air with the wind whipping vaguely therapeutically through his hair, before coming back and telling his friends how much further they had to stay in the ship. It was a nice ship, Jason didn't want to be misunderstood, but after nearly a week of solid flying? Cabin fever alert. Cabin fever to the max.

"Jason?" Piper's voice carried over from a little while away.

"Here!" He called, sticking his hand out round the corner and waving it for her to see.

It nearly hit Piper in the face, as she was closer than he realised, and she slapped his arm away, the various braids in her hair swinging.

"Funny. Now how far are we from Camp?"

"Not far at all, a couple more hours max and we'll be there." he told her, smiling at her as a grin broke out across her face.

Piper visibly relaxed.

"Oh thank the gods. I'll message Reyna to get her butt over here. I think a little charmspeak will calm her down to be ready for the… well, the _news_. You go tell everyone that we're almost home."

Yes ma'am." Jason smiled, enjoying the eye roll his girlfriend gave him.

He started off with Leo; he wasn't hard to find.

Follow the smoke.

Jason coughed as he stuck his head into the dark torch-lit engine section.

It was hard to see Leo, the room absolutely crammed with metal cannisters, pipes, tools, even a few household boilers dotted about, steam coming out of various holes, making the room intensely hot, droplets of water running down the metal panelled walls. Beneath one that was leaking steam copiously, Jason saw some skinny legs sticking out. He knelt down, patting Leo's knees.

The was a crash that sounded very much like a head hitting metal, and a loud curse. Jason winced. Leo rolled out, the black curls of his hair shooting out wildly in every direction.

"Are you trying to set fire to the ship?" Jason asked, gesturing around him, at the smoke that obscured the ceiling.

"Not anymore," Leo said, wiping his oily brow with what looked like an even oilier rag, "Though it would make a pretty cool defence. What do ya want, Sparky?"

"Just going round letting people know that we're almost at Camp. Four-ish hours, give or take. Will the ship hold up until we arrive?"

"Should do." Leo rubbed his near black hands on his jeans, and stood up, kicking the rolling board underneath the boiler. "I'll get the rest of my cabin working on it when we land."

"That sounds good. Do you know where Hazel and Frank are?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, they're in the games room, I'll go tell 'em. You get Death Breath and Annabeth." Leo said before adding with wide eyes, "I'm a poet and I didn't know it."

"I've got them, Shakespeare." Jason laughed and shook his head, on his way to Annabeth.

She was in- Jason paused a little- Percy's room, and had practically hidden herself away for the entire duration of their trip back. Jason softly rapped his knuckles against the door, and a muffled 'come in' answered him.

He pushed the door in; Annabeth was sat on Percy's still unmade bed, nestled in the blue duvet. Surprisingly, Nico sat on a chair in the corner; they seemed to have been talking.

Jason took a quick moment to scan Percy's room, having never been in there before. It was exactly the same as his, only a little messier. The smell of salt was strong, on the little seashells all on the windowsill, on the dirty clothes pushed into a corner, on the picture frames crammed onto Percy's nightstand. He could see Annabeth in a lot of them, along with pictures of a kind hearted woman Jason presumed to be Percy's mum, a bunch of demigods in orange t-shirts waving a flag, and oddly, Percy in-between a grinning cyclops and a satyr munching on a can.

"Nico!" Jason said, refocusing. "I was just looking for you too. We have news, we're almost at camp!"

His exclamation raised some weary smiles from the two teenagers. Jason tilted his head and leant on the door. He knew that they missed Percy, for Hades' sake, they all did, horribly. Though Jason resented the underlying rivalry he felt they always seemed to have (though Percy himself never seemed to draw attention to it), he chose to focus on the good feelings they had, like when they used their combined powers to take down an enemy, lightning coursing through tidal waves. In those moments, it wasn't about who was stronger, but about how strong they were together, brothers in arms.

He thought he'd grown to know Percy pretty well, what with being in a confined space with him for Gods know how long on a potentially fatal quest, and looking at the two withdrawn demigods in front of him, he knew Percy wouldn't want them to be sulking about, and he certainly would not want Annabeth locking herself away to study and barely talk to anyone.

"We've got about four hours before we land, come up and have a lunch picnic with us? Frank and Hazel made Chinese..." He trailed off temptingly before ducking his head, "…with a little help from Piper's cornucopia, of course. But it's warm, good, and we need to be in the best health when we arrive. Ready?"

Annabeth and Nico exchanged a look, nodded, and stood up, tiredly following a beaming Jason on to the deck. Jason had actually planned this out with the others; Hazel had found a blanket in the one of the cupboards of the ship, and they had laid out all the food on it. Annabeth's eyes brightened when she saw the rest sitting down, waiting. Even better, the sun had just come out. Perfect weather.

They laughed through lunch: whenever the conversation dimmed, or someone brought up Percy and the mood went sour, someone would quickly start a new topic, as to never leave any of them alone with her thoughts.

"I've got a little surprise for everyone." Leo sat up, grinning brilliantly. "Through my awesome powers of reasoning-"

Everyone snorted.

"Hey," Leo protested. "Anyway, we don't use electric stuff or games much, do we? Cuz monsters are drawn to them, like flies to Frank's pants."

Frank shook his head, arm round Hazel. Jason watched out of the corner of his eye as Coach Hedge turned his head towards them. Frank shrugged his bear like shoulders, and Coach Hedge put his hand on his bat.

Leo carried on. "But, we're in the middle of the sea, right? Not many will be able to find or reach us."

"Kelli found us, with her friends." Annabeth said.

"Yeah, but they were _looking_ for us." Leo said, clicking his fingers like he always did when was in his, as Piper put it, 'little boy at show and tell' mode.

"Most monsters are looking for us." Annabeth replied, though a smile was appearing as Leo capered about.

"Who cares? I got a video game set up for this afternoon!" Planting his feet in one place, Leo whipped off a sheet that had been draped over a large object.

It was indeed a TV, albeit a little dented, but it was accompanied with a console and several controllers. Piper whooped and clambered over them, plonking herself down straight in front of the TV. They all ended up playing a war game (oh the irony), but it was pretty fun, Jason had to admit.

"Alright," He said, his tongue between his teeth as his elbows tilted from side to side, holding on to the controller, "There's a bomb on my left, watch out-"

"Aaaargh!" Screamed Leo, bouncing up and down where he was sat. "I blew up!"

"Leo, careful!" Annabeth said. "You're jogging me, and I'm in the perfect position right now."

"Does anyone have a rocket launcher?" Asked Piper.

"I found one in a secret tunnel." Replied Frank.

"You did not, I showed you where that was!" Leo sad indignantly.

"Only because you followed me, Leo." Hazel said, her fingers slipping on the unfamiliar buttons.

Nico leant over, helpfully whispering tips to his half sister, while simultaneously throwing grenades from out the shadows. More than once, did Jason have to stop Leo from pouncing on Nico after he kept killing him. Nico smirked.

It was only when Jason had been stealthily blown up by Annabeth for the fifth time, that he looked up with a sigh. The shore of Camp Half Blood loomed in the distance, some tiny figures sword fighting with what looked like matchsticks.

"Oh, guys, we're here, we're here!" Jason put down his controller, tapping Frank on the shoulder.

Most scrambled up straight away, but Nico paused for a few seconds to save their place in the game. They all came to stand on the prow, and Jason wrapped his arms around Piper's waist. Finally, no more hovering. They would only be here for a few days then set off again, but he would treasure those days.

He needed to be there right now.

Being able to fly and everything, Jason was off the ship before Leo even reached the Wii nun chucks, Piper shrieking in his tight hold

They landed on all fours on the beach, Jason digging his fingers into the sand. Fiery, grainy sand after weeks of flat wooden boards!

Jason tried to make a sand angel.

Piper laughed as she swept burning sand off of his back a few seconds later, and for a second, Jason felt his age.

"It's your own fault!" She chuckled.

"I didn't expect it to be so hot." Jason explained, pouting.

"Don't call your girlfriend ' _it_ ', Grace." Leo whispered as he swaggered by, heading towards the Big house.

Jason leant and smacked him on the back of the head, grinning.

Campers cheered when they saw them, emerging from the trees, and followed them, shaking their hands and asking questions loudly. They tried to answer as best they could. Jason noticed Annabeth scowl and cross her arms, and he tried to move the group along faster. He breathed a sigh of relief when Chiron appeared to greet them, as every demigod fell quiet to hear what they had to say.

"Demigods, you have returned! Was your quest achieved?"

"Sort of, yeah. We have the Athena Parthenon in the ship, and the Roman praetor, Reyna, is on the way." Jason said.

"That is good news!" Chiron exclaimed as the cabins whooped, high fiving and cheering, and Jason smiled a little; Greeks never changed.

Chiron's head lifted, searching behind them.

"Where's Percy?" He asked.

No-one answered.

The demigods around them got quieter until it was silent, each of them craning to see.

Annabeth bit her lip.

The noise of breaking branches above them saved the hassle of replying, as Reyna descended regally on her Pegasus. She hopped off and, after Jason greeted her (and explained who she was to the other campers) dusted off her armour.

"You have the Parthenon? Good. I will call in our people under the grounds of a truce." She said, nodding in a satisfied way. "You seven will be ambassadors, I presume. Or nine," she added, glancing at Nico and Coach Hedge, before frowning. "No, eight. Who's missing? Where's Percy?"

"Let's go into the meeting room," Jason heard Annabeth speak up quickly from the back, "There's a lot that's happened."

Along with Reyna, the Cabin heads and Chiron, they set off to the big house, leaving a crowd of confused and worried demigods behind.

What was going to happen now?

Would the Athena Parthenon unite the camps and therefore the Gods?

And where exactly was _Percy_?

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Happy Valentines day! Is there an apostrophe? I don't know. I don't care, no one got me anything this year. :( Except my friends, who sent me those strange memes, Thanks guys.**

 **It takes so long to write my other story, the amount of words is just huge. I'll post as soon as I can [remember].**

 **Reviews!**

 **Yoyoyo updated 8/11/18**


	8. Percy V

**I'm so so so kinda sorry for the wait. I'm taking two GCSEs early cuz I'm a hecking nerd, and there's mocks coming up, and I'm taking art, which is a six hour exam. I'm just v tired. I'll post again within the week, promise. School is like the bane of my existence, but luckily I've only got like a year left. Well, a year of secondary school. Then it's off to college, which should hopefully be a little better as I get to choose what I study.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 8

Percy V

With a jolt, Percy's eyes snapped open.

His nose was instantly assaulted by the hot stench of meat and blood.

Percy scrambled to sit up on the strange cot like recovery bed, a thick material connecting two poles. Percy hissed, wincing at the intense pain, and he looked down, preparing himself mentally for the worst, but blinked instead. His torso had some ragged brown material wrapped tightly around the minotaur injury, blocking off the wound. It smelt like herbs. His leg was still strapped to the branch, straightened out, his bones no longer visible, but it still felt like it was on an awkward angle. Where was he?

He was in some kind of- _hut_? Percy guessed. It was pretty dark, just a few candle type things in the corners here and there. There seemed to be a collection of junk hanging from the brown canvas ceiling, that hung low, supported by odd white beams, like a crowded garage. There were hooks embedded into a few of the off beams, drawstring bags attached that oozed some kind of liquid that spread across the bottom. An assortment of weapons lay in the corner, some driven through the canvas walls like sewing needles.

As far as he could tell, he was alone.

Which was why he jumped as a large hand fell on the bed to the left of him.

Percy looked up, eyes squinting slightly from sleep.

A giant towered over him.

" _Woah_!" He exclaimed, pushing himself backwards, his free leg trying to gain traction to propel his body away.

Percy's hand flung itself out to search for his sword, his arms going up defensively. No part of his sword came into contact with his hands, yet he refused to turn his head to look, for that was when it would attack.

The red haired giant observed him passively, and Percy got the same feeling he got whenever a teacher would cross their arms at the front of the class and say 'I'll wait'.

"Your weapon is on the table by your foot." The giant told Percy, who flushed. "It is next to some medicine that will dull the pain, if you're done reopening your wounds, that is."

Percy halted his attempts to get away.

"I'm sorry, _what_?" He asked, genuinely confused.

The giant sighed, sitting on a wide and strong chair next to the bed, that looked like it could support Percy's entire cohort on it. He was a red skinned giant with flowers in his rust-coloured braids, a jerkin of green leather around him.

"I am Damasen." He said evenly. "Iapetus brought you to me, convinced me to treat you, fallen child of Poseidon."

Percy felt like he'd had the mother of all concussions. "But- but you're a _giant_! Why haven't you killed me?"

"Do you _want_ me to kill you?" Damasen raised his eyebrows at Percy.

"Uh. No. No, I'd rather you didn't, I guess." Percy glanced around for any sign of the amnesiac titan, hands still clenching the sides of his flat bed just in case it was a trap.

"Then I won't. I'm not like the others, you could say. Giants are Anti-Gods, I'm sure you know. For example, Polybotes is-"

"The anti-poseidon." Percy finished, nodding slowly. "Then who are you the anti of?"

"I am the anti-Ares. Unfortunately, this is also my curse. While he is anger and war, I am born to oppose all that. I was deemed too soft, too... _peaceful_. This is my refuge," he said, gesturing around his Hut, "and it is also my punishment."

"Punishment?" Percy asked.

A loud roar outside made Damasen sigh deeply. He rummaged in some kind of indent in the wall and pulled out two weapons. He handed Percy a sharp pale sword, black cracks curving up the sides that arched to a point.

"A sword made from a drakon bone. I cannot leave you unarmed to walk to your death, and that pitiful thing you call a sword wasn't sharp enough to slice bread. I have taken the liberty to sharpen it, so be careful. Now sit still, I will be back soon, child."

"Where are you going?" Percy asked, a sudden fatigue flowing over him, his body unconsciously relaxing as Damasen spoke.

Damasen didn't answer his question, he just took the other weapon, a long brown lance, in his hand. "Is there any reason why a titan is helping you?" he asked instead.

"The Lethe." Percy explained, his eyes growing heavy, and a yawn broke out of him. "Don't call Iapetus 'Iapetus'. You have to call him Bob. You can't let him know..."

The giant hesitantly nodded and left. Percy let his eyes droop, hand grasping the handle of the sword for reassurance, tucking it in beside him in the bed, before he let himself drift off.

When he woke again, Bob was back, and he was chatting to the giant as if nothing was amiss opposite him. Percy groaned groggily but did not try to sit up again. That just hurt way too much. And yet, the pain was somewhat diminished. After glancing down to check, Percy saw that the medicine was gone, his wound re-bandaged with just a plain strip of clean (as clean as anything could be down here) fabric. Bob rushed to his side, knocking a few things off in his path. Damasen sighed, cleaning up after the excitable titan.

"Percy, you are all better now?" Bob said, hovering by his bedside.

"Er- sorta. Feeling a lot better." Percy replied, catching Damasen's eye, who nodded in recognition, before frowning.

"Then I regret to inform you that I need to set your leg in the right place. It's still misaligned." Damasen walked over to the other side of the bed. "This may hurt. A lot."

Percy winced at the thought and gripped the underside of the wooden bed frame to brace himself. Damasen gingerly unwrapped his leg. Once the stick and socks were removed, he placed his cool hands on Percy's knee and upper thigh.

"Ready?" he asked.

Percy clenched his teeth hard enough to shatter them and nodded once.

"On three," Damasen said, "One, _two-"_

He quickly pulled, and, unprepared, Percy gasped, sucking in air straight to his lungs.

Damasen twisted, and, with a crunch, Percy's leg finally went back into place.

Percy groaned loudly, drawn out through gritted teeth as his head went light.

Damasen took the advantage and quickly put back the dressings. Percy barely felt it being strapped and wrapped up again, the jolting of his bones enough to put him out of it for a few minutes, his fingers flexing and jeering under the bed. Damasen talked to him to keep him awake.

"The medicine I make can stop pain and reduce the bleeding, but the leg cannot be healed without serious cost. The damage is too extensive." Damasen told him gravely.

"Bob." Percy blinked, trying to pat the titan next to him, his fingers feeling strange after holding on so tightly. "I need water from the Ph- the Phl- the fire river. That'll heal me better and the air won't get to me."

"You drank some on the way here, don't you remember? Your bottle is full. It's over there." Bob stated proudly.

Percy got handed the bottle and grimaced as he raised it to his lips. After a few swigs, he could take it no longer and coughed, heaving in wracking breaths. Gods, that was gross. He could feel the hot liquid travelling down his body, branching off into his limbs like it had a mind of its own. Once it melded with his blood, it became a hot mixture, slightly watery, and Percy embraced the feeling, really thinking about how it felt. He focused on the warmth, and drew attention to his leg and it relocated, shooting to his leg until it was swarmed with the water.

He breathed out slowly. Damasen was giving him a strange look. Bob was fiddling with some kind of pot hanging from the ceiling.

"How did your leg come to be like this?" Damasen said after a while.

"Loads of Arai cursed me. I didn't know what they could do, so I just killed them, that's how I got this at the start," he said, gesturing to his stained chest, "At the end, there were four and I threw two off the cliff into Chaos. One of them gave me the leg and the other..." Percy paused and frowned. "I don't actually know what they did, nothing showed up."

"There is _another_ curse?" Damasen asked sharply.

"Yeah, but I don't think it worked." Percy said, but it sounded weak to even him.

"The curse of an Arai is not to be underestimated." Damasen told him seriously. "If you still have another curse... It doesn't just have to be physical. It could be bad luck, the loss of a loved one, the inability to find something necessary. Watch yourself, child."

Percy grimaced. He didn't think they could do that. He bit his lip and decided to change the subject.

"Is the river Styx close to here?" Percy asked, too tired to search it out with his powers, still healing his leg from the inside.

"Yes, it isn't too far away. I'd say it won't take long to reach, though with your condition, maybe slightly longer."

"I'm leaving now." Percy said, gauging the giant's reaction.

He sighed.

"I thought you would say that, stupid and reckless it is to move from here. Demigods do make such awful decisions."

"Believe me, I know.'' Percy said with a snort, gesturing around to his current situation. "I'm supposed to be on a quest to save the world right now, and instead I'm in Tartarus, with a broken leg and a stab wound surrounded by giants and titans."

Damasen raised his eyebrows, humour in his eyes. Percy moved a leg off the bed to try to get up. "You coming?" Percy asked, easing his other leg over the side with both hands, careful not to disturb it.

"Oh, no. I cannot. I told you once before, it is a punishment to stay here. Every day, I must fight the Maeonian Drakon. It slew one of my friends many years ago, and I took revenge. Mother didn't like that, and it cursed me down here. This house," Damasen gestured around him, "is made of it's very skin and bones. If I do not fight it, and kill it, then it could go up to the mortal world and wreak havoc. I cannot allow that."

Percy cringed at the thought of the house being made of a drakon, warily looking at the walls. Even more so when Damasen presented several steaks in a bag for Bob to carry. He didn't ask what they were made of. Before this, Bob had brought random bits of food from places Percy didn't question, and though his mind fought the drakon steaks, his stomach growled loud enough to rival the strongest titan.

Damasen nodded grimly to them as they walked out the doorway, Bob helping Percy limp.

He had a weapon in each hand, his poorly sculpted bronze sword in one hand, the Drakon bone dagger in the other. Damasen had let him keep it as a gift, along with sharpening Bob's broom spear thing.

A furious howl reverberated to the left of them, just behind a rocky outcrop.

" _Hurry_!" Damasen urged. "It might go for you instead. It's my responsibility. Go!"

Percy and Bob hurried away as best they could, though Percy glanced back a few times. He slowed down and watched. A large drakon, larger than he'd ever seen, slithered over the jagged hill near the hut. It spread its frilled collar and hissed, shifting its hundred-foot-long body to flick its dappled green tail and smash a large pile of rocks to smithereens.

Damasen stood, weary yet fearsome.

He may have been peaceful, but Percy was forcefully reminded that Damasen was a giant. He was not to be messed with.

Damasen leapt into battle, stabbing and shoving the Drakon with the familiarity of time of its moves. Percy and Bob watched closely.

In a split second, a lot changed. Damasen glanced out the corner of his eye, seeing that they were still there.

Distracted.

The Drakon pounced, pinning the giant to the floor, snapping at the giant, who only had one arm available to block. Damasen roared, slamming a thick hand into it again and again, but it wasn't moving.

Percy limped as quickly as he could back towards their new friend, leg tripping and buckling as he ran. Bob thundered alongside him.

"No! Stay back!" Damasen shouted, swiping at the drakon which was hissing in his face. "I can handle it!"

Percy ignored him and, lifting his sword, slashed the oblivious drakon in the side. It screeched and turned to fling itself on Percy but it was quickly knocked off it's feet. The drakon was flung across the ground like a ragdoll as it was sucker-punched by Bob.

"I told you, I had it. I've been doing this since before you were born, child of the sea." Damasen growled as he sat up before he relented. "But thank you."

"No problem." Percy panted.

His leg felt like it was trapped in one of those crunching machines that turn cars into cubes.

"I'm fine." He said, more to himself, straightening up, secretly resting all his weight on the titan next to him.

"It isn't dead." Damasen said hoarsely, standing up.

He was right; the Drakon was shaking it's head, getting all bearings back, serpentine eyes fixating on them.

"I must kill it again." Damasen said shortly.

"Will you be in this loop forever?" Percy asked.

"It is the fates' plan." The giant stated glumly.

"So break it! What happens if you don't fight the Drakon?" Percy asked desperately as the beast staggered towards them.

"It kills me, then you, then Bob, and goes up to the mortal world." Damasen said, placing his foot backwards to prepare for the onslaught.

"Well yeah that's not ideal, but there's gotta be another option. Can't you just... I don't know, _tame_ it?" Percy suggested quickly.

"Friends." Bob murmured behind him.

"It will not listen, this is revenge on me for killing it so many times." Damasen said, resigned, "And it will not understand, all it knows is death. I could try, but it may not work."

The Drakon, shaking off the blow, started charging towards them. Percy raised a hand, trying to freeze it in its tracks. It stumbled a little, but it was too large, too fast. Percy pulled harder, stronger than he'd ever tried. If he didn't do this, it would hurt his friends. The Drakon crashed to the ground, pushing back up instantly. Percy panicked, his grip fading, the drakon's body pumping with such raw strength. He brought his dagger back to swing-

Damasen swept in front of him, arms wide.

"Stop!" He bellowed.

Surprised, the Drakon came to a complete halt.

Damasen stamped his clawed foot to the floor, causing several small landslides of spiky rock nearby.

"You will stop this now!" He bellowed. "He is right! For too long we have fought! Enough is enough!" Damasen reached out a hand, and grabbed the Drakon's frilled head, pulling both it and himself to the ground with an almighty crash.

It snapped its jaws upwards, trying to bite him, but Damasen held on, keeping it in a kind of headlock, his other hand gently resting on the side of its snout.

"Enough." He repeated in a lower voice, more softly, the way he talked to Percy and Bob.

The Drakon wriggled for a long time. Percy held his breath, using a large bit of his power to fuse the beast to the floor, just in case it tried anything. Damasen talked to the beast during this time, in quiet tones. He spoke of ancient times, of battles averted by truces, of futures yet unknown.

Eventually, it calmed down. It stopped twisting. It even looked a bit confused.

"The curse... It has broken. I can no longer feel such years of hatred between us. The fates have delivered me a new path."

"What is it now?" Percy asked through the throbbing in his leg.

Damasen beamed before grabbing the Drakon. He swung round as it reared up. With a little pulling and some help from Percy, he mounted the Drakon, a new persona taking over his face.

"I will assist you in the war against my mother, fallen child of Poseidon! I will get you through this land! I will take you to the doors, and fight all those in our way!" he exclaimed victoriously, "We will escape Tartarus! Together, we will be free!"

Percy grinned.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **I'll either update POTP tomorrow or maybe Tuesday/Wednesday . I only have one exam on Monday, Spanish reading, so I'll have enough time to write more. I'm gonna fookin ace it.**

 **Yoyoyo updated 9/11/18**


	9. Percy VI

**Ah, finally done with all the mock exams. They were easier than I thought they would be, with the exception of maths paper 3 and chemistry paper 2. Those were just... Yikes. Maybe it's cuz I studied at like 1am the night before for the exams. Some of them I didn't even study for *cough* English *cough*. I don't know, it's just like really easy for me, and that sounds so big-headed but it's like true, you probably couldn't tell by this tho lmao.**

 **Yo friendos. We're close to 100 reviews on POTP. Also, nine more reviews and I post the second chapter of BITSR, yay.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 9

Percy VI

Percy shifted to lie on his back, easing the pressure off of his chest wound. His leg was twinging furiously and his trouser leg was a mess of blood, but he could feel it healing. They had soaked some bandages in the Phlegthon, and while it burned like Hades, it seemed to heal deep when left on for extended periods of time. His leg had set in place now, the bone slowly fusing back together.

Well, at least he wasn't walking on it.

He could absolutely not wait to tell his friends.

The Maeonian Drakon was surprisingly comfortable; it's skin was like a battered leather handbag. Percy put his hands behind his head as the Drakon carried him forward, Bob and Damasen on either side. The motion of swaying from side to side was similar to that of a La-Z Boy.

Most monsters kept their distance- not many would be stupid enough to attack a group that consisted of a giant, a drakon, a titan and the infamous son of a 'big three' God.

But, Percy reminded himself gently, some really were _that_ stupid.

A small group of cyclopes, low on the hierachy, decided to try their chances. Because, to be fair to them, their group, though intimidating, were slightly easier to take then perceived. The giant was a pacifist, the titan an amnesiac, the drakon newly tamed, the demigod gravely injured.

So they leapt at them from behind rocks, roaring a battle cry, running headlong at them with weapons raised in the air.

Percy's head shot up.

Bob braced himself and gripped his broom tightly. The first cyclops was instantly vapourised with a bite from the drakon, jolting Percy as it shot forward. He rolled off the side, clenching his teeth painfully as he landed, all the air in his lungs knocked out of him. Bob was too busy fighting the largest cyclops to help but Damasen was by him in a flash, helping him to his feet and standing back to back with the white-faced teen.

Percy unsheathed his daggers and let his senses flow out of him, searching for liquid around him, mainly the two cyclopes barrelled towards them. With a strong flick of his wrist to focus the direction, he swept their legs out from under them, like they were caught in the backwash of a wave.

He was getting _good_ at this.

They were all too big for him to vapourise but slow enough for him to reduce their pace and move. He kept them pinned until Damasen finished them off, both breathing heavily. The drakon snapped one around the waist with a screech, gold dust glittering through its long fangs. There was only one left, and Bob took a stance for his finishing blow.

The _\- completely sane, of course_ \- cyclops began to laugh maniacally.

Percy limped over as Bob froze, looking bewildered.

"You can stop me, and you can't stop the others, but you are no match for her!" It burbled, eye closed. "Oh, you're all gonna die. You are, you _are!_ She wants that demigod dead," he said, nodding at Percy, who gripped his sword tighter as it continued, "and she is down here looking for you! Finally, she is back! We all have orders to capture you, sea scum. You and you're little friends will never see the light of day again! _Neve- uh!"_

Percy stabbed it in the chest.

"Less of that." He panted, flicking gold dust off the blade.

"Who is coming?" Asked Bob fearfully.

"Well, I was going to ask until _somebody_ got impatient." Damasen sighed.

"We already know everyone is trying to kill us, nothing new there. I just didn't want to listen to it monologue." Percy said, sounding braver than he felt.

"But a ' _she_ ' is looking for us." Damasen lifted Percy gently onto the Drakon, sweat drenching the demigod's forehead from both the heat of the place and exertion.

"I know," Percy groaned. "I know."

He breathed a shuddery gasp before trying to regulate his panting.

"But," He continued. "There are a lot of ' _she's_ out there. Take your pick. Gaia?"

"No." Said Damasen. "It said that she's down here. Gaia is too preoccupied on the surface, she would most likely to send someone. The ' _She_ ', it would seem."

"Who would Gaia send?" Percy asked. "A ' _she_ '." He mused.

His first thought was Kelli, but there was no way a cyclops would big up her like that. No, it had to be someone powerful. Like, medusa? No, she was still reforming, or at least he thought she was. There was actually a good chance she could have reformed, he thought with a frown, lying backwards again on the drakon, he'd have to keep an eye out for her. Well, or not.

Percy was about to add some more to the conversation, but the Drakon was so comfy... top ten things he thought he'd never say. And the safety of having others around him- when would he have this kind of protection again? If they were attacked, he knew he wouldn't die straight away. Percy let himself fall asleep, his body going weightless.

...

"-ake a drink."

A burning flowed over Percy's face and he shouted out in surprise. His hands automatically went for his swords, but a coughing fit took him off guard before he could strike anything in front of him. He slid off the side of the drakon, falling to his knees to cough and wheeze. He nearly brained himself as he brought up his weapon-filled hands to cover his mouth.

"Bob!" Percy spluttered, catching sight of the titan walking towards him.

Bob held up his water bottle, the fiery liquid swirling within. Percy noted the blood and blisters covering his hands and agreed, taking the bottle to drink reluctantly. He couldn't help gagging, and his eyes watered.

"Maybe we should stop." Bob suggested worriedly.

"No! No. We just need to get to the river." Percy gasped, feeling the water flow into his blistered hands.

"The river will still be there in a few hours. Sit. Rest." Damasen insisted.

"I _just_ slept!" Percy defended.

"And yet you are still tired. Child, you may be half God but you are still half human. Your mere essence rejects being down here. Lie back." Damasen told him. "We will watch over you."

Damasen helped him limp over to the drakon, and he pressed his back onto the side of the beast to catch his breath before he got on.

The drakon huffed and shifted. Percy glanced behind. There was a deep wound on the side of the beast, tender to the touch. Percy slowly unhooked the bottle again, and poured a little onto the wound. The drakon screeched, stamping its feet, but, as the wound bubbled and healed over, it relaxed before curling its tail around Percy. Percy blinked in surprise. He rested his shoulder on it and breathed out, giving it a pat.

He didn't sleep.

Instead, he lay awake on the drakon's back, and tried to plan out how things were going to go down. If he was honest with himself, he just needed to get the blessing, then improvise.

Why did all his plans include improvising?

He guessed if something went wrong, it wouldn't do anything to him if he had the Styx blessing. Probably.

And yet, as Percy glanced up at the titan and the giant, he was caught in mental crossfire. So it wouldn't hurt him. But they could get hurt.

They could just respawn though, he really reasoned in his head.

But they would still die.

Percy groaned internally- he didn't get paid enough for this. He just needed to focus on himself for the time being, especially in his state.

Percy sat up, biting his lower lip to stifle a moan. His chest still leaked blood, but it was only the equivalent of a few paper cuts amount of blood. His leg still hurt pretty bad, not yet quite walkable yet, just vaguely staggerable. He clambered on to the front of drakon so he could see where he was going, patting it fondly on the back. He would need to introduce it to Mrs O'leary.

"Does it have a name?" He asked Damasen as they started moving again.

Damasen gave him a strange look. "It's the Maeonian drakon. It doesn't have a name."

" _She_." Bob mumbled. "It's a she."

"I never knew that." Damasen said thoughtfully, patting the beast on the head.

The drakon snapped at his hand and Percy instinctually leant forward, pressing his hands against the drakon's neck.

"Whoa, girl." He said, feeling ridiculous after he said it.

Though, Percy reasoned in his head, if he could talk to a hellhound that way, what difference did a drakon have? It was just... scaley.

"Maia." He snapped his fingers. "Maeonian drakon, Maia."

"You named the drakon?" Damasen asked dryly.

"My hellhound is called Mrs O'leary." Percy told him without looking at him.

There was something in the distance.

"A puppy-" Bob looked around.

"Shhh." Percy hushed, squinting his eyes.

What was that in the distance?

Some kind of fog? Moving towards them rapidly.

"Uh. Damasen, what is-?" Percy gestured, confused.

Damasen and Bob both unhooked their weapons, which screamed a red flag to Percy.

"A little information...?" Percy trailed off.

Beneath him, he heard Maia hiss and rear back. Damasen glanced over to them and stuck a hand into a canvas (skin- Percy wrinkled his nose.) bag and pulled out a long stretch of fabric. Hooking it around the Drakon's neck quickly, he handed a loop to Percy.

"Hold on." He told him grimly.

Percy took the makeshift reins in bloody hands, eyebrows raised. He had absolutely no idea what was goin...g... on.

Ah. Now he understood.

It wasn't a fog. It was an army, hundreds and hundreds of monsters all charging.

And it was heading straight for them.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **This chapter is a bit shorter but I wanted to leave it on a cliffhanger. Sorry not sorry. Deal with it- Persassy Jackson.**

 **Who is the 'she'? I'll give you a clue- she makes the gods shudder. Yeah. Things aren't gonna go so well for our friends. I get really confused between dragons and drakons. So bear with me, kay?**

 **Yoyoyo updated 9/11/18**


	10. Hazel I

**Yknow what I really hate? Parents. I swear, when I go to Uni, I'm cutting off all ties. My grades are perfect, and I'm generally happy when I'm alone or with my friends, but apparently that's not how they want things to be done. Had enough. I don't know, it's just such a drain on me.**

 **Thanks for the reviews, guys. Let's get to 1000 reviews lmao, get onto the first page when you set the filter to reviews. I'd go for the longest fic written for Percy Jackson, but that's like over 400k words and yikes I'm barely at 25k. Here's the new chapter.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 10

Hazel I

"Where's Prissy?" Clarisse asked immediately as she sat down on the ping pong table, stringy clumps of hair swinging in her face.

All attention turned to an uncomfortable Jason, as Annabeth had made it clear she was in no mood to talk, eyes burning into the floor resolutely. She had Piper's hand in a death grip underneath the chair. Hazel's heart broke for her.

Jason cleared his throat.

"First of all, we have the Parthenon, which is good news. But... it didn't exactly go smoothly. To start, when Annabeth was getting the Parthenon, she had to go into Arachne's lair." Jason began relatively calmly considering the whole situation.

Katie Gardner recoiled. "The giant spider?" She asked in horror.

Annabeth nodded, and Malcolm Pace, Head of the Athena cabin and apparently fellow arachnophobic, picked his feet up off the floor, suddenly wary.

"But the floor was a bit- um- unstable. Parts of it came off and Arachne fell below into the gap, which we now know led straight into Tartarus."

The mere mention of the name caused a drop in temperature.

Hazel felt the chill go through her very soul, and Frank wrapped his arm around her in a reassuring bear hug. He was warm, and she found herself burrowing into him. Hazel saw an emotion flash through Annabeth's face as she glanced up at them, and instantly felt guilty that Frank could comfort her, where Percy could not do the same to Annabeth.

Jason carried on stoically, delivering the news like a report as best he could, like he was a Praetor again. Hazel wondered when he'd take up the mantle again, or if he would.

"However, parts of Arachne's web was attached to Annabeth's foot, and none of us noticed until she was almost dragged into Tartarus. She came so close. Percy cut it just in time."

A few people gasped and Annabeth was suddenly under a lot of visual examinations to see if she was alright. She didn't meet anybodys eyes. Chiron gripped the arm of a chair.

"So where is Percy?" He questioned, his eyes panicked as if he already knew the answer, and praying to the Gods he was wrong.

Jason looked lost for words and he ran a hand through his blonde hair. Leo spoke up next to him, all the demigods zeroing in on him instead for information on the only son of Poseidon.

"When Percy cut the web, he kind of dived towards Annabeth. It worked but he- he sort of fell over the edge."

The room was deathly silent as Jason carried on where Leo had left it.

"He was clinging to a ledge a little bit in by his hands. Or, kind of- well, _hand_. When Percy dived, he landed weird. He broke his arm." Jason said shortly.

Another stunned silence met his words.

Piper decided to continue. "He told us to meet him at the doors of death, on the other side, where he's gonna cut the chains to close the doors. There's going to be a lot of monsters there, so we came to unite the camps. Get the gods back, then go get Percy. Which is why-" Piper gestured to Reyna. "We have Camp Jupiter's Praetor here."

The cabin leaders stared at all of them in horror.

Chiron had closed his eyes. He clenched his hand into a first then relaxed it a few times.

Hazel didn't know much about Chiron, or his relationship with Percy, but just looking at him she could see the sadness and pain of a parent losing a child, and she looked away unhappily.

The leader of the Apollo cabin who was stood next to Nico, Will, Hazel guessed, was holding his bow so tightly she thought it would snap.

" _What_?" Katie Gardner looked stunned.

"We tried to get to him but he couldn't hold on, he had to let go. The gravity was unusually strong." Piper added sadly.

" _Tartarus_..." Breathed Travis Stoll. "Gods, _Percy_."

"Isn't it- like- won't he-?" The Dionysus Head Counsellor spoke up hesitantly, Hazel didn't know his name, his eyes flicking between Chiron and Annabeth.

"Percy's the strongest demigod I've ever met." Nico said quietly. "If anyone can close the doors and get out, it's him."

He said it so firmly, so certainly, that Hazel found herself nodding.

Clarisse stood up.

"So we stop standing around! We need to do _something_. How do we get the gods back? How do we unite the camps?" She directed the questions to Reyna.

"I presume that we just have to show the camps working together, evidenced through this quest and the parthenon. I sent word back home, everyone should be on their way. They know to come in peace."

"Even Octavian?" Hazel asked quietly.

Reyna turned to her, chin in the air.

"I'm the Praetor. He may have strong views but he does not have the authority to command or overthrow me. I will deal with him if I need to."

"When will they arrive?" Chiron asked, looking up for the first time since he heard of Percy's whereabouts, a greyness in his face and weary eyes; it spoke of this not being the first time he had felt this way, though in no way did it look easier.

"Some time tomorrow, late afternoon." Reyna answered him.

Out of the corner of her eye, Hazel noticed Annabeth quietly telling Piper something. The daughter of Aphrodite nodded as Annabeth slipped out the door. Hazel turned her head to see Frank looking in the same direction.

"I'm going to go and find her." She whispered to him.

Frank nodded. Hazel stood up and weaved her way around the back of people to follow her friend. The door shut behind her with a small click.

Hazel could see the fading light of the early evening glinting off of Annabeth's golden hair. The daughter of Athena ducked behind a tree to avoid a group of demigods before setting off at a run towards the beach, weaving around unnoticed, something clearly perfected over years of experience.

When Hazel caught up with her, Annabeth was sat on a rock, staring out into the sea.

"I just couldn't take everybody _looking_ at me like that." Annabeth swiped furiously at her eyes.

Hazel started, unaware that she had been seen.

"They were just seeing if you're alright." She said. "They care about you."

"I know." Annabeth snapped before she apologised. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Hazel said mildly, crossing her legs to sit down next to her.

"After we won the war with Kronos, everything was supposed to go back to normal." Annabeth closed her eyes. "Percy and I had just started dating officially, and then- then Hera came along and messed it all up. There was a new prophecy and Percy just went missing. It's just- it's not _fair_."

Hazel could see that Annabeth was close to sobbing. She could see that she was fighting it.

"What do you mean 'dating officially'?" Hazel distracted her.

Annabeth smiled and sniffed.

"We had known each other for about four years. I kissed him for the first time because he was about to do something really stupid and he blew up a mountain."

Hazel blinked. "Wait," she said, "Not the whole Mt St Helens explosion?"

Annabeth nodded.

Hazel went completely blank. "Wait _what_? But- but that was like a major thing? Thousands of people had to be evacuated. It was like a whole earthquake situation?"

Annabeth nodded again. "People always seem to forget that Poseidon is also called the Earthshaker. Percy doesn't like to use it much, he never did it to that level after St Helens."

Hazel was in shock. She knew Percy was powerful, she'd seen him fight with both water and swords, but she didn't know he was that powerful.

"Anyway, but after that, we were kind of dancing around the whole thing. Then the war ended, and by then the whole camp knew. Knew before me. For a daughter of Athena, I really was oblivious." She laughed a little to herself, a sad laugh, and Hazel smiled.

"They threw us underwater, but Percy being Percy, he created a bubble. He said it- he said it was the best underwater kiss ever. Then we started dating until... All this."

Hazel smiled.

"That sounds lovely." She said, making Annabeth chuckle.

"It was." The girl said, standing up, her tone suddenly spiteful. "And then Hera wiped his memory and left him to the wolves and the monsters for eight months."

"Annabeth?" Hazel asked, startled.

"What can I do?" Annabeth began to pace. "There's got to be something. Maybe I can help Leo on the ship, make some new defences that will hold."

Hazel raised her hands in a placating manner.

"Annabeth-"

"No, Hazel, I need to do something, I can't just sit around thinking about thus whole thing anymore, I don't want to think!" Annabeth cried.

"Fight." The words bubbled over and out of Hazel's mouth. "Practise. Wouldn't Percy want you to be ready for the attack?"

Annabeth nodded.

"You're right. Is Clarisse still in the meeting? I'll go find her."

Hazel opened her mouth.

She had meant for Annabeth to train with her, for them to practise together. She missed Percy too, it would be nice to take her mind off of it. But she guessed that Annabeth would be better off with the daughter of Ares, if she wanted to actually train to be ready.

"The meeting might be over by now, yes." Hazel agreed.

"I'll go find her." Annabeth turned back. "Thanks, Hazel." She said.

"My pleasure." Hazel smiled warmly as the girl hurried off with determined strides, knife in hand.

Hazel stared at the sea for a little while, thinking about Percy's powers. A bird landed on the branch next to her, making her jump. She blinked before hesitatantly petting it on the head. Wait-

"Frank?"

The bird shifted and the baby-faced boy she knew rippled into view.

"Frank!" She scolded him. "You scared me."

"Sorry." He grinned sheepishly as he sat on the sand next to her. "Where's Annabeth?"

"She went to go practise fighting with Clarisse. She really needs to let out some steam."

"That'll be good for her." Frank agreed. "What about you?"

"What about me?" Hazel asked, confused.

"How are you coping? We all miss Percy too."

"I just can't believe he's gone." Hazel burrowed her head into Frank's shoulder.

Frank hugged her firmly.

"He's not gone. He'll come back, absolutely fine. He will."

Hazel really wanted to believe him. But from what her brother had told her... She remembered a phrase her mother had told her once- hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

She thought it fitted the current situation quite well.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **There have been quite a few good guesses for who 'she' is, but none correct so far. It's not who you would expect, but it is a character in Percy Jackson you've met, I haven't found someone in the myths to throw in.**

 **Yoyoyo updated 9/11/18**


	11. Percy VII

**Lots more guesses... None right so far. I'll give you another clue- She was in Battle of the Labyrinth.**

 **You'll maybe find out next chapter, or probably at the end of this one, I don't know, you think I know what I'm writing? I don't. I sit down and panic-write.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 11

Percy VII

Thundering into battle atop a speeding Drakon sounded freakin' awesome, but when a few life threatening injuries were thrown into the mix, it lost some of the pizzazz.

"They're definitely after _us_!" Damasen yelled over the roars of the army. "They're all looking this way!"

"Why are there so many?" Percy called back.

"This ' _she'_ must have sent them!" Bob replied.

Percy could feel his leg jolting further out of place with every stride; he clenched his bloody hands around the rein tightly. The army of opposing monsters was meeting them in the middle of the rugged stretch of the wicked-looking land.

Damasen and Bob were his pillars on either side, fierce entities flying into battle, brothers in arms. Percy was forcibly reminded of who Bob was before- some of Iapetus was shining through, quite glaringly.

Percy got a good look at the ugly opposition; monsters of every shape, size and level of annoyingness were fleeing their way, crazed eyes focusing on them. Percy was aware of the bounty on his head, the bounty on all of their heads. He wondered what the prize was to inspire this many.

No time to think about it now though.

Nerves sizzling, Percy let go of the rein with one hand, and took out his bronze sword.

Closer, closer, CLOSER-

Percy leant to the side and _swept_ the head off of a monster as they rushed into battle like a tsunami.

Gods, there were so many of them, the clash of claws and weapons clanging and crashing like screams rising up in the hubbub. Damasen was effortlessly backhanding monsters into dust, covering him on one side. Percy hacked and slashed, Maia grabbing various monsters with her tail and crushing them to death. Bob covered his right side, clouting monsters on the head with his broom.

"Where did they _come_ from?" Percy yelled over the din of snarls and clangs.

"I don't know!" Damasen hollered back.

A monster leapt towards Maia, fangs outstretched to take a bite out her side. Percy defended her without a second thought, leaning and slashing it across the chest.

An ogre was running directly towards them, and Percy panicked, his sword unable to reach it without falling off. Luckily, Maia had it covered, rearing back. She spread her frilled collar and hissed, her poison breath filling the battlefield with the smell of pine and ginger. The ogre face-planted, spreading gild dust around with a mighty whoomph.

The forces were thinning- Percy could see space on the other side. He gripped on tightly as Maia span, her tail wiping out a section like the Total Wipeout sweeper machine. Percy smiled in surprise, reaching down to pat her on the side in thanks, and she flicked her head back in acknowledgement.

"Iapteus!"

Percy's eyes shot up. That voice. He knew that voice.

A large shape jumped off a high outcrop of rocks nearby, squishing some spare monsters underfoot. Damasen and Percy were still battling furiously, driving the monsters away from them, but Bob had stopped. He stared up at the other Titan.

It was Hyperion.

Percy looked at them carefully, having never seen them by each other; Hyperion looked so similar to Bob. No wonder the other was transfixed.

"Bob!" Percy yelled, trying to capture his attention.

The titan glanced at him.

" _Iapetus_?" He murmured, looking at his hands.

"No, you're not Iapetus, you're _Bob_!" Percy yelled, flinching as an empousai raked its claws shallowly across Percy's leg before it died. "Not Iapetus! Not anymore!"

"Do not listen to him, brother." Hyperion chuckled, wading his way through monsters to stand before them. "He is demigod scum, and he has tricked you."

Bob looked at him.

"No, Bob, I didn't trick you! We're _friends_ , friends don't turn their back on the other!" Percy yelled.

"I am Iapetus." Bob mumbled. "I am a titan."

"He took your memories, Iapetus. Stole them. He's not your friend, he's using you. Come back, brother. Mother is reclaiming what is rightfully hers, you have a part in the new world." Hyperion was persuasive and Percy could see his words were having an effect on Bob.

"Yes Bob, you were Iapetus." Percy began desperately, knowing he couldn't fight off two titans, and Bob looked at him with piercing eyes. "But you have to remember, Iapetus did bad things. He killed innocent people. Iapetus was a bad titan, and a bad person. He didn't have any friends because he wasn't-"

"Quiet, scum!" Hyperion bellowed. "This doesn't concern you!"

"But Bob is different!" Percy carried on loudly, "Bob is a defender of others, a saver of lives! A _good titan_! He's my friend!"

Hyperion snarled and reached over, his long arm outstretched in Percy's direction. Percy didn't stop looking into Bob's eyes, an honest expression on his face.

"Who are you? Iapetus the Piercer or Bob the Hero?" Percy shouted, rearing back to prepare for Hyperion's assault.

For a split second, Percy saw in his mind Bob turning on him, silver eyes icy and broom raising to strike down the demigod who had stolen his memories. Percy knew he wouldn't blame him. He knew how he felt towards Hera, and tried to convey both his apologies and understanding to Bob in his eyes, and, mercifully, Bob spoke up.

"I am good." Bob said to himself quietly. "I have friends."

"And what do friends do for each other?" Percy grimaced as he slashed at the golden titan's arm that was trying to rip him off Maia.

"Stupid meddling demigod!" Hyperion roared. "I have longed to make you suffer since you imprisoned me in a tree! I don't care if She wants you, I will kill you myself!"

Hyperion lunged; Percy braced himself as smaller monsters backed away.

A broom handle with the tip of a spear shot through the air like a bullet.

"I am Bob the Hero." Bob said dimly, as his brother dissolved into gold dust on his weapon.

Damasen stared, absently shoving monsters away from him. Percy raised his eyebrows and approached Bob tentatively, Maia snapping at any monsters who came near.

"Thank you Bob." He said hesitantly.

The silver-haired titan didn't look at him. The monsters around him backed off, fleeing in the opposite directions. A thick layer of powdered monster lined the black spiky ground. They had killed a good three-quarters of the army, the rest ran away. Damasen had ichor bleeding out of his arms, which had taken the brunt of the attack while Bob seemed relatively unharmed.

Maia and Percy both had a few deep scratches, something they fixed with Phlegthon river water, Percy focusing it on hurt areas to heal them quicker. Maia batted his hand with her head which he patted fondly. For a 900 pound beast who could rip apart an army, she was a real sweetheart.

Bob stood still as they healed themselves, all of them sweating deeply.

"Bob?" Percy started.

"Hyperion." Bob didn't move as he stared at the ground where his brother dissolved.

"Hyperion was a bad titan, he wasn't like you, Bob. Okay? You saved us. Thank you." Percy raised an arm to- he didn't really know what- just do something to reassure the titan.

"Thank you, Bob." He repeated, dropping his arm.

"We are friends." Bob said gruffly, yet his eyes twinkled.

His eyes, silver, similar to Annabeth's when the sun shone on them, looked at Percy. Percy blinked and turned away; he couldn't look at those eyes any longer. It was too painful.

"Where now?" He said, clearing his throat to avoid it breaking.

"I would say..." Damasen scanned around. "That way."

"Yeah." Percy agreed, sensing nearby water in that direction. "I reckon the Styx is close."

With renewed hope (and mostly healed injuries), the four set off quickly. They came across few monsters, and Percy made use of his newfound powers to take them out. He could feel that it was getting easier and easier, and he wasn't sure what to make of it. The rush he got when he used it was indescribable, like a wave of concentration that, for a kid with ADHD, was quite foreign, especially to Percy, who had only ever felt something similar when sword training with Luke.

Bob was quiet, and the majority of the conversation was left to Damasen and Percy, who hung at the back of their group while Bob walked ahead. They talked in hushed tones as Damasen explained monster families.

"It's not like how humans have family. Your lives are so short, so limited, you hesitate to hold grudges for long. But, we are immortal. The odd stabbing now and then is like a- a _prank_ , temporary." Damasen explained.

Percy nodded. "I get that." he said. "Life's too short to hate someone forever. Well," he tacked on the end, thinking of Gabe "Unless they do something really bad."

"We rarely see each other as well," Damasen added. "I think some of the minor titans actually view these wars as some sort of twisted reunion."

Percy blinked.

"But- it's a _war_?"

"We have fought in many wars. At the end of the day, we just come back here." Damasen shrugged.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, lost in their thoughts.

"Sometimes," Damasen began, looking down, "I envy you humans. Your lives are so short that every action has meaning. My brothers and sisters tend to act as they know there will be limited consequences."

Percy contemplated his words.

"There has to be a sort of safety in being a titan though." He mused. "You make a mistake, and die, or others die, you all just get to come back. Like a video game extra life. Your status, your strength, your power- surely there are some out there who just won't attack you on those factors alone?"

Damasen tilted his head from side to side, red braids swinging. "That's true." he said.

Percy didn't know how to take the conversation further. While he in no way wanted to be immortal, the idea of getting second chances resounded strongly in his mind, that had seen too many friends fall in fights.

They began to ascend a mild hill, and Percy lifted his head, feeling a river flowing on the other side.

"We're here!" he exclaimed, urging Maia to go faster.

Once they got over the top of the rocky peak, they all stopped. Several rust red stones clattered down the slope.

"There it is." Breathed Percy.

A twisting black river, overly polluted, filled with pretty much anything you could imagine: broken toys, ripped up diplomas – the scrapheap of human miseries. Lost hopes and dreams, as well as wishes that never came true.

The descent was a bit hairy at times, Maia slipping every now and again, only to be grabbed back by Damasen. Bob hadn't said anything to Percy but had exchanged some small conversations with Damasen. Percy left him to cool off- given time, he'd understand, or at least talk to him again. Useful or not, Bob actually was his friend. He kind of missed the babbling.

They reached the edge of the river.

"Do you know what to do?" Damasen asked, unsure.

"Yeah, I've done this before." Percy answered casually. "Just like riding a bike."

Damasen shook his head wearily.

Percy took off his sword and dagger, placing them on the floor, alongside the battered bottle. The bottle in question was singed and blackened- Percy didn't think it would last very long.

He kept his clothes on, or what was left of them. His bloody t-shirt was tied around the chest wound, his trousers were ripped and frayed along the edges. Percy knew that some girls (especially Aphrodite's kids) wore ripped jeans as a fashion statement. Well, he was absolutely rocking the look this season.

His shoes were probably the least damaged- only a few minor bloodstains. Percy walked up to the river. Right. His anchor was Annabeth. His love for her would certainly keep him stable. And his mortal point- he was taking a leaf out of Luke's book and going under the armpit. The left one.

Percy saluted to his friends before picking up a foot and stepping into-

" _Jackson_!"

Percy groaned internally. What else did they want? He put his foot back down and turned around and-

And froze.

He thought she was dead, or at least still respawning.

He remembered her from the last time he had fought her, alongside Annabeth, and how she had nearly killed them.

He slowly picked up his swords to face her.

"I presume you're the one who's set a bounty on our heads." He said, trying to keep his tone unwavering.

"Of course." she said, slithering closer. "I heard you fell down here, and an opportunity like that can't go to waste. You will feel my wrath, Perseus Jackson. My full power."

She took out her weapon, and stared him directly in the eye with a glare that sent a shiver down Percy's spine.

"This time, you _will_ die." Hissed Kampé.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **I write Damasen the way I write Remus Lupin, and that confuses me.**

 **Aha! Bet none of y'all saw that coming. No one guessed correctly :( but I guess it's cuz I only gave like one hint. Fifty points if you worked it out at the start tho.**

 **Yoyoyo updated 13/11/18**


	12. Percy VIII

**Ah there was a mix up in chapters, I wrote the wrong one, so the next one will be up asap. You won't have to wait for too long.**

 **Here's the Percy part 2 chapter. Drop a review if you're liking it so far!**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 12

Percy VIII

Kampê was hideous. There was no other word for her.

She had a human head, but with snakes for hair, like Medusa. Percy knew, as his horrified eyes ran over her, which one he would rather face. The top half of her body was human, though what her tough hide-like skin was made of was questionable. The black lower dragon half, had white stripes running down her back. Racer stripes, he think he had once heard Paul call them. Huge dark reptilian wings burst out of her back, casting shadows over their little bankside ridge, making the black glass ground somehow even darker. A massive venom-dripping scorpion tail lurked lazily behind her. Her claws were incredibly long.

There was a sense of being submerged in thick fog when near her. She was a definite catch.

Percy could see why the Gods shuddered when they had first seen her.

"Er- Kampê, you're pretty powerful, no one's denying that. But you don't want us. Surely you've got something better to do than chase after one little mortal?" Percy backed away slowly.

"And miss out on making you beg for mercy?" She snorted, her tail flicking like the whip beside her.

"Shouldn't you be on the surface?" Percy tried. "Gaia hasn't left you down here while she tries to take over the world, has she?"

"Oh no," she said, with a wide and nasty grin, "I'm right where I want to be."

Percy winced a little at the absolutely poisonous stare being levelled at him.

"Why me?" He said.

"Why not? To kill the demigod responsible for the fall of Kronos is every monsters' dream." She hissed, her eyes blinking sideways like a lizard.

She crept forwards slowly.

"Every monster?" Percy asked, a distinct feeling of 'yikes' building.

"Every single monster." Kampê confirmed with a smirk of pure spite. "Ever since everyone found out you fell down here, they've all been out after you. I've set a rather impressive bounty on your head. Or should I say," she stretched her talons out and continued forwards, " _For_ your head."

Neither Damasen nor Bob had moved until then, Bob starting to withdraw his weapon next to him.

But Kampê only had eyes for Percy.

"They say you're the most powerful demigod in history." she sneered, and both Damasen and Bob flicked glances at him with wide eyes.

"That's not true." Percy dismissed instantly, thinking of Annabeth.

"They say you destroyed Kronos' army single-handedly-"

"It definitely wasn't single handedly." Percy interjected.

"-that you collapsed the Williamsberg Bridge with one blow-"

"Only _part_ of it!"

"-and that you were the first one to ever kill the Clazmonian Sow."

"The what?" Percy blanked. "Oh, you mean that big flying pig? That wasn't me, that was a bunch of automatons, they were the ones who actually did all the work."

"Well then, this should be easier than I thought." Kampê returned.

Percy unsheathed his swords, remembering with a curse that he couldn't control the river Styx. That could have been useful.

He breathed out as they circle each other, trying to lock on to the feel of water in Kampê's blood, but it was difficult, there was too much of her, and he didn't think he could hold any of it.

But she wriggled as if she felt it, and her eyes burned holes through his soul.

"You _dare_ -" Her voice was low and dangerous; Percy winced. "You- you pathetic _child_! You think you can pull your new party trick on _me?_ You dare to challenge _me_? Do you honestly believe you can win in combat?"

"We beat you once before. We can do it again." Percy said, his voice cracking annoyingly, and even he could hear the underlying doubt.

"Briares is not here now!" She screamed maniacally, clearly touchy about losing before as she stamped.

"But my friends and I are." Percy said boldly at her, going for an intimidating approach. "And together we'll put you back where you belong." He said, the courage in his words not quite making it to his heart, yet he could see Bob and Damasen stand up just that little bit taller.

"Enough." Kampê snapped. "I have waited long enough. Mother is rising. And all those opposed shall burn."

She unwound the whip from her arm.

The whip was ten feet long, flickering with fire, capable of cauterizing instantly for maximum torture time, and around his arm before he had time to react.

" _Agh_!" Percy shouted as a white-hot ring of pain erupted on his forearm.

Kampé yanked him towards her, and he gasped, staggering, using every bit of strength he had to hold on to his weapons and not fall over, the skin on his arm feeling as if it was bubbling.

Her tail swung out, hovering menacingly over Percy, who was leaning back and scrabbling with his legs to avoid being pulled over to her. He watched the whip warily with agony filled eyes; he knew it could incapacitate even an immortal Elder Cyclops for hours of excruciating pain.

To his side, he saw Bob snap out of it at his howl of pain, and charge towards her.

He lunged for her arms, swinging his broom down, as Damasen wrapped his arm around Percy and held on, using all his giant strength to keep him in place without ripping his still burning arm off. Percy felt like the rope in a tug of war game.

Bob's move worked; she loosened her grip with one hand to swipe at the Titan, long enough for Damasen to wrench the whip off the end of Percy's arm, burning his fingers with a hiss.

Percy fell backwards, Damasen had let go to assist Bob, who was losing badly as Kampê swiped at him in anger.

Ichor poured out of him in various places. Kampé didn't have her scimitars, thank the gods, as they were taken as spoils of war last time. Instead she was fighting with a medium silver sword and her whip, but it made her no less dangerous.

She raised an arm to plunge her sword into Bob again but Damasen shoved her over, barrelling into her with such force that it sent her flying. But she landed on her feet, claws crushing stones under her. She screeched and lashed out with her whip again and again, slashing Damasen across the face, Bob across the shoulder, a stroke catching Percy across the whole of his back and sending him stumbling.

Percy felt a nudge on his shoulder and he placed a hand on Maia to get up, hissing at the pain in his arm and back. The drakon had fled initially, staying well out of range. Percy patted her quickly as a show of thanks and took in the situation for a second just to figure out what the Hades was going on.

Damasen and Bob were attacking Kampé in a way that reminded Percy of how Annabeth and him tried to fight her, very in sync and fluid; as one ducked, the other swung. If he joined, he didn't know whether he'd be an addition or a hindrance.

Well, he'd never know unless he tried.

Percy ran around the back of the trio and, drakon bone in hand, stabbed with all his strength into her tail.

It sank a few inches deep and an ear splitting shriek tore from her throat like a velociraptor, craning her fearsome head round, teeth bared and dripping with ichor from where she had bitten them. Percy stumbled back to get out of her range. Bob seemed to take this as an opportunity to attack once more, slamming his fist into her hand over and over until she dropped her whip.

Then something seemed to snap.

She screamed again, but this time it was guttural and throaty, and Percy resisted the urge to plug up his ears, the other two stumbling back from her. The scream sounded like every car alarm and cat cry in the world

Spinning around, her bleeding tail sweeping, they all jumped back another foot to avoid her.

"I am the daughter of Tartarus _and_ Gaea!" Kampê screamed, turning to see them all, and her eyes dancing with a fiery hatred, "I am the jailer and torturer of Tartarus! I have made Gods, and Giants, and Titans alike scream for mercy! By the time I am through with all of you, you will offer me anything to just die! I am the most feared monster here, you do NOT try to overpower ME!"

Quicker than Percy had ever seen a monster move, she swung her arm to the left in a wild arc, and slashed her dagger across Bob's neck.

The only good Titan didn't even blink.

With a poof of gold that was too beautiful for such a horrific act, he was gone.

" _No_!" Percy yelled, arm outstretched as if he could somehow pull him back.

He exchanged a look of similar horror with Damasen.

"Bob..." Percy whispered, getting angrier by the second.

A lot angrier than he had been earlier, Percy forced his consciousness of his surroundings to swell, like blowing up an immense balloon, he could feel his lungs straining. He took everything he felt inside of him, felt her entire body in the air, and pushed her.

But not physically.

Everything seemed to slow down. He saw the ichor oozing from her tail, and dribbling from her torso where Damasen and Bob had got lucky hits in.

He saw it run.

He felt it run.

He sensed where it came from and held that, he held it so damn tightly, his own blood came streaming out of his nose like some dark waterfall. He held up a hand and shoved her with more force than he'd ever mentally used.

She shot backwards like a bullet, a blur in the air with a mighty whoomph noise, tumbling down the glassy black surface to the bottom, and Percy almost thought he'd heard her break the sounds barrier.

Her head whipped back up, eyes alight with potent rage.

"Percy." Damasen was behind him, holding his shoulder and pulling him backwards. "How did you-? That isn't-?"

"Jackson!" Kampê screeched, climbing back up the hill on all fours, like a demented toddler. There were little rock showers from where her hands dug forcefully into the black glassy shards and shattered them. She bared her pointed teeth at them in a twisted parody of a smirk.

"You think _that_ was a throw? Here! I'll give you a better demonstration!"

She lunged forwards, beyond fury, and Percy felt her hands wrap around his torso-

And then suddenly he was flying, a black river arching up to meet him.

His limbs flailed. Percy had to think quickly- he barely had enough time to think of the connection between his mortal point and the bank as he flew.

Percy wondered briefly if this is what Jason felt.

He hit the Styx face-first, a smack that echoed in his ears. The water was warmer than he thought it would be, and a lot more opaque. He could still open his eyes which was useful.

Judging by the strain on his lungs and the crippling fatigue that encompassed his very being, Percy guessed he didn't have long. It was terrifying to not be able to breathe underwater. He could feel the link from his armpit to the shore and Annabeth took over his thoughts.

He thought of her telling him about how he drools in his sleep. He thought of how pretty her hair was, even when she had spent the night in a zoo cage.

How she had kissed him and he had blown up a mountain.

The underwater kiss AKA best kiss ever.

The reunion, the judo flip, the kiss.

How when even a Goddess had wiped his memory, he could still remember her.

He felt the bond strengthen, energy pulse through him like electricity and his skin flashed hot for a second, before his head broke the surface of the river. His limbs were energised, his skin feeling impossibly tough. His lungs burned as he gratefully gulped in air. As Percy swam to the bank and crawled up, he noticed how the glass didn't touch his skin, and it felt like he was wearing gardening gloves. Though his injuries were still on him, he couldn't feel them, as if he was looking at his body through bulletproof glass.

A cry from his left had his head shooting up, his eyesight sharpening.

"Damasen!" Percy shouted in horror as Kampê's tail lodged itself in the giant's spine.

Maia hissed and backed up; she seemed to be glaring daggers at Tartarus' torturer. Damasen slumped with a deep cry. Kampê laughed cruelly and looked over to him.

Her smirk fell.

"What- what are you-?" She got cut off as Percy threw her backwards, a lot stronger than last time.

Percy stared in awe before shaking himself out of it and running over to the fallen giant.

"Damasen?"

The giant groaned an unintelligible word, but at least he was still coherent. Percy patted him strongly on the shoulder once before standing back up.

Kampê.

"I'd heard you were good." She spat, limping into view. "Every monster knows you. But I think you may be the first in a while to be a true challenge. And..." She lifted her whip, about to say something witty, when Percy pushed her again, having heard enough.

"Shut up." He said angrily, as Kampê soared through the air.

She struck out with her whip, but she was too far away, falling, falling...

With a splash, she landed in the Styx.

Gold dust floated to the surface a few seconds later.

"She's gone." Percy said grimly, rubbing at the ring mark on his arm. It was still visible, and a nasty dark red colour.

Damasen groaned, the noise fainter than before. Percy sat down on the spiky glass floor by him, unsure what to do.

"When will it wear off? A couple of hours?" Percy asked, not really expecting an answer, half talking to himself. "We'll wait." he added, Maia plonking herself down next to him with a loud thud, Percy patting Damasen's hand by his knee.

Damasen didn't make any more noises, eyes squeezed shut in agony, but his hand clutching Percy's showed his gratitude clearly.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **2 GCSEs down. Chemistry was pretty easy, but that means the grade boundaries are higher. Ugh.**

 **I wanna play Chamber of Secrets on PS2, but my controller decided to stop working. Now I've gotta wait for my sister to get off her lazy ass and drop the other one round.**

 **Yoyoyo updated 20/11/18**


	13. Frank I

**Right. Jeez. Sorry about not updating, I was revising for GCSEs.**

 **On the biology paper, our class came out really confused and angry about this one question on nitrates and peas and beans.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 12

Frank I

Frank stuck his head round the door for the Ares' Cabin, before jerking his head back out, looking flustered. Will Solace, who was passing by, gave him a strange look as he clattered down the steps, a little shaken.

"Frank? Frank Zhang, isn't it? You alright?" He asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I was just looking for Annabeth," Frank said, still looking alarmed. "Someone told me she was with a girl called Clarisse, so I..." Frank trailed off, gesturing towards Cabin five.

Will groaned.

"Never go into the Ares Cabin without an invite, man!" He said, shaking his head. "They'll eat you alive."

Frank nodded, blinking a bit. "I only put my head round the door..."

He moved aside so Will could see the handle of a knife sticking out of the doorframe, cackles fading as the door swang shut.

Will snorted, shaking his head, a light dusting of freckles across his nose.

"Yeah, as you can see, they're a little jumpy. The amount of people I get 'cause of them, it's insane." Will said. "Anyway, have you seen Nico?"

Frank gave him an appraising look. He didn't know much about many of the people here, and didn't want Nico in any danger, but he'd been told that Nico had originally been at Camp Half Blood when he was younger, before he came to Camp Jupiter. He couldn't seem to imagine a small(er) Nico in one of the bright orange shirts they all seemed to wear. Frank looked the son of Apollo up and down. Will seemed okay though. Frank jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

"He was with Jason the last time I saw him." he said. "I think they're by his cabin."

"Cool, ta." Will clapped Frank on the shoulder before hurrying down across the path by the strawberry fields, sun glinting off his golden hair.

Frank waved in response, but it was too late for Will to see. He hastily dropped his hand, checking around to see if anyone saw, and continued his search for the daughter of Athena. It was only after midday that he found her, the sun high and hot in the sky.

She was in the training arena, and Frank joined the small crowd of younger demigods spying on the two figures in the middle, one fighting fast and strong.

"Quicker!" Clarisse yelled at a sweating Annabeth.

Annabeth doubled the speed of her attack on the dummy, her dagger flying like an extension of her body. Light glinted off of it, making Frank wince. She was good; really good. In New Rome, Minerva was a minor goddess at best, but clearly Athena was an important figure in Greek culture; Annabeth fought with a skill level he saw only reflected in his fellow centurion's styles. She switched weapons with ease, handling each with the same level of ability.

"I wanna be that good one day." A little boy piped up from the front, on his very tiptoes to watch Annabeth fight.

"It's a skill that children of Athena have. Adaptation and expertise in weapons." said a rather snooty looking girl with clear grey eyes in front of him.

Frank sighed; he wasn't stupid. He could see that this was letting her release some steam, anger over losing Percy, and he knew he shouldn't drag her away. He didn't think anyone could see the tears in her eyes, except Clarisse, who just pushed her harder, faster.

She's better here, Frank thought, she should stay with Clarisse.

Unsure of what to do, he wandered over to the edge of the woods. Camp Half Blood was so different to home. Where at Camp Jupiter there was regime and ordered war games, here... it was a more family atmosphere, matching shirts and- was that a _lava_ wall? He sat down on a tree stump to look around. Something near him jumped.

Frank shot up and grabbed his weapon.

A faun (satyr, Frank reminded himself) held up his hands in a show of peace frantically.

"Whoa watch it!" He bleated. "That thing's sharp."

" _Sorry_! Sorry." Frank apologised quickly. "You just startled me."

He put his sword away quickly, and held out his hand.

"Frank Zhang, Son of Mars." He said, unsure of protocol with Satyrs here.

"Grover Underwood, Lord of the wild." Grover said proudly, taking the offered hand.

"Lord of the wild?" Frank said, suddenly nervous. "Am I supposed to- to _do_ something or-"

"Nah, nah, nah." Grover shook his head. "It's just a name. Got any tin cans?"

Frank blinked from the change in subject and patted his trousers to check. "Uh, no. No cans."

"Damn." The satyr pouted. "There'll be some at the pavilion, it's just after lunch time. Coming?"

Frank shrugged.

"In Camp Jupiter," Frank began as they walked, "fauns don't really do much. They're just kinda there. What's the difference? What do Satyrs do here?"

"Too much." Grover shook his head. "It's our job to help any campers reach here in time." He looked down for a few seconds, a complex expression on his face. "We have to find them and guide them."

"In time?" Frank furrowed his brow. "What does that mean?"

The satyr wrung his hands a little, eyes lowering. "Monsters get attracted like crazy to demigods, especially big three ones. One whiff and _bam_! They chase them til the demigod fights back."

Frank blinked. Wild. Lupa wasn't exactly nurturing but she was fiercely protective over her own, and before that, he'd never had any problems with monsters. Maybe his mum and grandmother chased them away.

"Wait, wait, so they just wander around looking for demigods? How young are they when you find them?" Frank asked, intrigued.

"It ranges. Annabeth was 7 when she got here, one of our youngest, Percy was 12 and I think- I think Luke was our eldest, at 14." Grover said as they walked through the arch to the pavilion.

"You know Percy?" Frank said.

Grover stopped in his tracks. His eyes watered a little and suddenly Frank was worried he'd offended him.

"Know him? I brought him here! He's my best friend! We went on crazy quests what felt like every year, fight these monsters, free this goddess. We actually have an empathy link. Of course I know him! Everyone does!" The Satyr bleated, grabbing a can and biting it anxiously.

"I didn't know!" Frank said defensively. "Wait, what empathy link?"

"What he feels, I feel and it's the same the other way." Grover explained.

"Can you feel what he's feeling now?" Frank asked suddenly.

"No," Grover said miserably. "Everything just cut off. I didn't know why until Sally messaged me that he had..."

The Satyr lunged for another can.

"Uh- Sally?" Frank asked, sensing a topic Grover wasn't too keen on.

"His mum." Grover said. "Nicest lady you'll meet."

Grover 'ooh-ed' as he found a large thick tin thrown away.

"When," he crunched in between words. "Are your camp people arriving?"

Frank checked his watch. It was a little cracked and battered but told the time well enough.

"They said today, and around now-ish, but I don't know what time specifically."

"They'll be here in a few minutes." came a loud voice behind him.

Frank straightened his back. "Reyna. Where are they coming from?"

"West." The Praetor said, stepping smoothly down some steps; it seemed she'd been exploring too, but Frank suspected it was more tactical. "You're all needed around the campfire, apparently that's where we're negotiating."

"Negotiating what?" Frank asked.

"Nothing." Reyna said curtly. "It's just for show, a power play on both sides. The Seven will hand over the Parthenon, the camps will sign a peace treaty and then we go to Epirus."

"Are both camps coming?" Frank raised his eyebrows.

"Most of them from each. A lot of people volunteered. It's not just for Percy, though it's a good reason. It's that Gaia will most likely rise in Athens, and soon. The closer we are, the quicker we can put her back in the ground." Reyna turned, her purple cape flying around theatrically. "Come on."

They followed her to the campfire. Annabeth and Clarisse were right at the front, a sea of orange shirts lounging behind. Jason and Hazel were sat rather stiffly on the other side. Camp Jupiter's side looked pitiful compared to Camp Half Blood.

They joined Jason, sliding onto the tree trunk the others were sat nervously on. Jason looked calm but his twitching foot said otherwise.

"Hey, Frank, Reyna." Jason said, his eyes flying from the cabins to the beach to the Pavilion.

Though he had ADHD like the rest of them, Jason was usually a level headed dude, not really the type to panic, so to see him look so worried set Frank off a little.

"Hey, Jason, Hazel."

The girl smiled at him softly, and Frank couldn't hold in his question, though kept it as quiet as he could.

"What if Octavian tries something?" Frank confessed his worries to them.

"He won't." Jason said, shaking his head a little too quickly. "He wouldn't dare. Not with Reyna and I here."

Reyna nodded. "We outrank him, and as much as he dislikes Greeks, we're on their ground. They would have a clear advantage, I've looked around and there are too many field benefits they could use against us."

They sat in silence, a contrast to the loud raucous talking from the other camp.

"They're quite different, aren't they?" Jason said suddenly. "Greeks."

"They're disorganised." Reyna said, but relented a little. "Though they're skilled. And they do not have the same procedures we have, but fight as a team regardless."

"It's like a big family." Jason echoed Frank's thoughts from earlier, and they all lapsed into silence again, only now Reyna was frowning.

After five or so minutes of waiting, he felt Hazel's hand slip into his. He held onto it tightly, giving it a squeeze as a horn sounded in the distance.

Reyna stood.

The first wave of Romans marched in, each demigod and legacy looking tired but determined. They halted in front of Reyna.

"Stand down." She ordered, the conversational voice replaced with her strong praetor boom. Frank wondered if she even had to shout to command attention. The Romans knelt down, passive but still ready, though some had their legs crossed like they were in elementary school.

"Right, listen up. We're here to unite the camps." Clarisse shouted once everyone had settled. "So let's get it on with already. Basically, three of yours and four of ours went to go get the Athena Parthenon, yadda yadda yadda. Long story short- we got the Parthenon, but Priss- Percy fell into Tartarus. We need the Gods to get him back, that's why we need to unite, so they can help us defeat Gaia who's rising pretty soon, and all of that is happening in Greece, where we're all gonna take off to ASAP. Got it?"

A few horrified murmurs broke out about Tartarus, on both sides, though the Greeks were a lot more vocal.

"WHAT?"

"-not _Percy_ -"

"TARTARUS?"

"-fall? How can you fall-"

"- _Tartarus_ -"

"-the gods _themselves_ don't go down there and-"

"-already dead-"

Some kids grabbed each other to hold on. Frank understood. Percy was a natural leader, in both camps it seemed. It turned out Percy wasn't just a kid of the big three, but here he was a cabin leader, taught a couple swordfighting classes here and there, a He _ro of Olympus_. If he was defeated, they would surely lose hope.

There was still fast paced muttering and conspiracies being thrown about. The girl Clarisse, who in Frank's opinion looked as tough as an Ox and instantly knew they were related, scowled and lifted two fingers to her mouth, letting out an ear piercing whistle.

Silence.

Reyna nodded stiffly.

"We have the Athena Parthenon." Reyna started, indicating upwards to where Leo was floating in the Argo II. Frank couldn't see what he was doing, but after a few seconds, the stable Doors crashed open, and the statue of Athena was slowly winched down.

The glare of the statue made several demigods recoil. Frank knew what they were thinking: it was like the goddess of wisdom was searching through your very soul.

He could feel every roman just become that little bit aware of the importance of Athena over Minerva.

"I have here a treaty for peace." Reyna continued. "We Romans will sign first."

Boos and calling burst out of the army, and Reyna dispelled them with a bark.

"We are on their land," she shouted. "We are guests, and we do not want this war any more than they do. We need the Gods. So we sign. Then the Greeks." Reyna did not look happy about the order of signing, but she seemed too preoccupied to argue.

She pulled out a sturdy pen and wrote her part in loopy handwriting, the bold signature of a Praetor. Jason stood behind her, and, squinting a little bit, scratched his name on it too. Annabeth stepped up, a couple Greeks whooping, and she scribbled her name with Riptide, acting as the official-unofficial camp leader. It went unspoken that another signature should have been next to hers, and that they knew exactly whose. Frank hadn't even known that it could work as a pen.

Camp Half Blood cheered, and after a while, so did Camp Jupiter.

Frank couldn't help but wonder where Octavian was. It was unlikely that he would let this pass without contributing something; ever since the debacle with Leo kinda blowing up some of the camp and Percy becoming Praetor, his hatred for them had increased exponentially. Hazel nudged him and he leant down a bit so she could whisper in his ear.

"Octavian's asleep. Some of Morpheus' children helped out."

Frank leant back and grinned.

"I did think this went too smoothly." He said. "How did they get him?"

"Someone told them where he was sleeping as they came here. They carried him from their last stop, flat out asleep, he's out cold in the cave of their Seer now, Robyn or Rafael, I didn't get the name."

"Who told them?" Frank asked, aware that Octavian liked to keep his sleeping quarters sealed off and hidden, in case his teddies were stolen again.

Near him, Reyna gave a satisfied smile.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Okay, so I planned this story out kinda well, but now I'm having second thoughts. There's something I planned to happen, and it will separate my story from others that are similar, but I don't know if I should do it or play it safe. So:**

 **Follow through with plan or play it safe?**

 **Yoyoyo updated 28/11/18**


	14. Percy IX

**Yeah yeah it's super late I had exams and reports and a crippling lack of sleep but it's here now whoooo. I'd like to say it'll never happen again, but I can't lie to such amazing fans.**

 **This will NEVER be abandoned, I will finish it if it kills me. I've never seen another fic like this that doesn't end up with Percy ruling the world or shacking up with a God or him somehow surviving eight hundred years in tartarus. I'm tryna be realistic, or as realistic as you can get in a world of Greek gods.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 14

Percy IX

Percy winced and ran his hand through his dirty hair for about the hundredth time in a minute. He didn't know if he could take it anymore.

Kampé may be gone, but the sting from her tail had haunted both Damasen and Percy for a long time after. Unable to move, the giant simply lay slumped on the floor, face down, and Percy couldn't move him. They had to stay there, the river flowing unnaturally silent next to them, but at least it cut off a side of attack from monsters. Percy hated staying in one place; he felt like a target was painted on his back, and cursed himself for not being stronger, not being able to help Damasen walk. They were too open, too exposed. They'd both been sat there for days, weeks. Next to him, Damasen let out another gut-wrenching yell as the poison coursed through his veins. The pain was said to be unimaginable.

"Let it out buddy." Percy mumbled, sending a sympathetic glance from his position atop a rock he had been using as a lookout. "I'll protect us, don't worry."

He didn't know if Damasen even heard him, the giant was writhing on the floor, seemingly unaware of anything or anyone. The wails from the giant sounded wrong and unnatural, setting Percy's teeth on edge. But Percy himself was overly aware of how loud the giant was, he had a thick coat gold dust on his biceps as a testament to that. His screams attracted every ugly sucker from every corner of Tartarus, looking for a wounded giant but instead just finding an angry demigod.

Percy wasn't worried about himself when they came; the Achilles blessing made his skin a rival of Hephaestus' greatest metal creations, made him faster, stronger, better. But he still couldn't shake the fear that he wouldn't be able to save Damasen. Monsters thought travelling in packs was safest, and could swarm them, cutting him off from the paralysed giant. Slicing through them was like waving his hand through water, but a second was all it could take.

Luckily, they focused on him instead.

Percy craned his neck around, doing regular scans for monsters. A thick feeling of paranoia plagued him; with his improved Achilles hearing, a stone could be kicked a couple miles away and Percy would have his swords out before it could even land. It was frustrating, and he could feel heavy bags of exhaustion underneath his eyes. It was only up to him to stay awake. They'd all die if he didn't.

He blinked as a monster came round the side of a cliff. An empousai froze in its tracks, just a few metres away from him.

Percy twitched the drakon bone dagger in his hand. Behind Damasen, a previously sleeping Maia rose her head and let out a low rumble. The monster hesitated, baring its teeth uncertainly.

"Just go away." Percy snapped at it tiredly.

The empousai took a step back, then paused. Percy narrowed his eyes. It could be a distraction, Percy's mind whispered, it's a trap.

Before he even realised what he was doing, he was throwing his sword so quickly it was a blur in the air before it buried itself in the empousai's chest. A cloud of gold floated across his face as he stood, furiously checking Damasen over.

"Come on!" He yelled, the noise rivalling Damasen's screams.

He span around, head darting from side to side. Maia batted him with her head and he twitched, stopping his hand from descending towards her. His chest was thumping.

The attack came quickly, a heavy mass suddenly jumping on his back, three more slithering in from seemingly nowhere. Percy twisted, trying to rip the beast off of him.

It scrabbled, avoiding his reaching arms and spinning movements, and Percy's head jerked back, eyes wide, as claws wrapped around his neck, trying to slit his throat. But instead, they just raked over his skin, not even leaving the barest hint of a scratch. Percy caught a flailing ankle, and judo flipped it over his shoulder. The monster slammed into the ground with a howl; Percy slashed to finish it off, but as soon as one was dead, the others took his place, and Percy, exhausted from his lack of sleep, was barrelled into. The three monsters remaining knocked him clean to the ground, his sword clattering out of his grip.

They snarled and clawed on top of him, and for the few seconds Percy's eyes were open, all he could see was a wild mass of open jaws, sharp teeth and slashing claws. He managed to get an arm up, throwing it over his eyes as they tried to tear him apart.

He could feel their talons on every part of his body, an overwhelming sense of being cornered rising up in him. All he could hear were their snarls, right in his ear and in his face, the ripping of clothing, and, somewhere beyond the writhing mass of monsters like a wall upon him, he could still hear Damasen's weak cries.

He jerked his head from side to side, trying to get away, and managed to get his other hand free. He squinted through the flurry of dark shapes, and shoved the one that was trying to see what was behind his lungs. It flew off, and Percy quickly knocked the others off, scrambling backwards.

The monsters growled, shaking themselves off, but Percy's hand had already curled around the handle of his sword.

Not even bothering to think, Percy flung himself at the nearest one, tackling it to the ground. His sword ran through the leathery skin, and Percy rolled through the cloud of gold, coming up to slash at the surprised beasts. He didn't even recognise what they were.

Kicking one in the knee, he brought the other one down with a powerful strike, before beheading the other one. He'd forgotten how good the Achilles blessing could make him. Even after he had lost it when going into Camp Jupiter, he felt he had retained some of the speed, the wild fluid technique that had made him stand out so much against the order of the Roman Legion.

He wandered back to Damasen, a tension building in his head. Like a mix of fatigue and adrenaline fighting in his head, and he couldn't shake the constant feeling that something was watching him, he knew it. He could feel its eyes constantly burning into him. And he'd kill it. He sat down heavily on to the ground and retrieved the bronze sword he had thrown.

His eyes were beginning to sting; he needed to sleep, especially with the blessing. He needed someone to watch his back. Percy didn't realise how dependent he had become on Damasen and Bob. He ran a hand over his sword.

He missed the fine flat sides of Riptide, the lightweight feel of it, effortlessly polished and ready to slice. The sword he'd made had served him well, but it was a mess of swirling bronze metal and sharp points at random places along the blade. Even the handle itself was spiky in some places. Riptide's ability to return to him was what he missed most about it, and he rubbed a hand against his forehead as he thought about a way to recreate that.

He could melt part of the handle and put some string through it, attach it to his wrist? But it was problematic for three reasons: A) He didn't have any string, B) He might want to throw it, and C) He would probably burn any string before he even began.

He wanted to be able to stretch his hand and just have it fly back. Being unarmed down here was the worst feeling. Percy wracked his brains, feeling a slightly Annabeth-esque voice in his head encouraging him to think. What could he do? He could control water, but unless he put some on the sword somehow... or inside. He could cut the handle and put water inside. Percy couldn't stop thinking about the idea, he knew it was ridiculous but it sounded great. He took out the bottle of Phlegthon water- it was for injuries on Maia or Damasen, but Percy had already decided that they wouldn't get hurt in the first place with him there.

Doing another scan, Percy couldn't see any monsters. In plain sight anyway. He propped the sword up on an angle and slowly started cutting into the handle. He went about making a well in the metal. It was rough and unpolished, but by the time Percy poured a little of the water into it, it was doing its job well. He closed it off with a thin layer of bronze taken from the bottom, slightly floppy from where he had used the water to heat it up. Percy raised the sword up, checking it out, feeling proud. He tossed it a few feet in front of him, and tried to summon it back.

Locking on to the flowing of water he could sense, the sword flew straight back to him. It smacked him in the nose, and fell into his waiting hands.

Percy blinked.

"That could have been bad if I didn't have the blessing." he mumbled, rubbing his nose.

He walked back to Damasen, pouring a little of the water onto where he had been stung. Damasen groaned loudly, digging his hands into the rock.

"I'm sorry." Percy said apologetically. "But it's healing you faster."

Damasen didn't respond, just went back to his low groaning. Percy hoped it would be over soon, but he knew it could be long before that happened. The strongest could be incapacitated for several hours, but that was on the surface. Down here... he knew it could be days or even weeks. He wasn't sure how long he'd been down here in the first place. Sometimes it felt like a week, the kind of week where it was nonstop, but sometimes it felt like a couple of months. Bob had always been annoyingly vague in his answers about time, but Percy understood now. There was no way to measure time, and Percy didn't have a watch, but if he did, he had a strong feeling that it would be spinning in circles. Or even going backwards. He could one hundred percent see why the Ancient Greeks had called this place hell, what better place to throw bad guys than in some poisonous pi teemingt with bloodthirsty and carnal monsters? Percy sighed. He was hoping it had only been a few weeks (or days, even), but he knew it could just as easily be months or...years.

Percy sat down next to Maia again and pushed his eyelids open to stay awake, before he found himself scanning the area for threats again.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Ah right, you guys told me to go ahead with the plan so long as no one gets hurt or dies... Uh. I'll go ahead with it anyway. *insert cheesy and evil laugh here but it peters out because no one else laughs* ha ha yeah so anyway-**

 **Don't forget about the Phlegthon water in his sword! It may come in useful later...**

 **Yoyoyo updated 26/1/19**


	15. Percy X

**It's the summer holidays but it's Britain, so it's still cold. Went to a LGBT parade last Saturday and I had a flag around my shoulders, it was so loud and colourful. I bought two muffins yasss.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 15

Percy X

Damasen's shouts of agony had long since broken his voice, ragged groans flickering like a faulty TV volume button.

Percy was sat down on the ground, leaning his back onto the sleeping drakon behind him. Over time, Maia had opened up to Percy, and he found that he liked the drakon; she was strangely lovable. She wandered off every now and then to bring back anonymous hunks of meat that Percy ate with a wince, but without question. After realising that they were in for the long haul, Percy had attempted to build a sort of shelter, but his resources were limited, and he'd just ended up shoving a circle of boulders around them.

He'd eventually passed out after what he guessed was about a week of waiting, and though he had woken to a pterodactyl type beast trying to jam its long beak into his eyes, the piles of gold dust around him told him that Maia had protected him from others when he was asleep. Since, they'd set up a kind of rota, he slept, she protected, she slept and he protected.

Monsters came and went, but none survived.

It was his turn to protect now. He was slouched, but there was no mistaking posture for attention. Anybody could see the light green eyes flicking around at the slightest noise, the grip on the swords, the tapping foot. His legs were outstretched and his jeans were in ribbons below his knee from the constant monster attacks. Damasen's screams of pain echoing in his head even during the rare moments when the giant was quiet. He absently flicked the skin-canvas bag that was tied around Maia's neck; it was crammed with meat, some smaller weapons Damasen had brought along, and a couple cool looking rocks Percy had put in for Annabeth.

When Damasen finally went silent for a while, Percy turned to look at him, back straightening.

He slowly approached the giant.

"Damasen?" Percy said, fearful that the giant had died.

He held his breath, hearing nothing but his own heartbeat for several long seconds.

Damasen huffed out a light sigh.

Percy breathed out, grinning in relief. He sat back on his heels, letting his shoulders slump. The giant curled up into himself a bit, and his white eyes blearily fluttered open, so similar to his giant brothers. Finally, thought Percy, Damasen was moving without intense pain. That meant they could finally get him up and keep going.

"Maia." Percy gave a long sharp whistle in the direction of the drakon, and her head came up. They'd 'agreed' on that kind of being a signal that he needed her, whereas her signal for him was usually just to nudge him and send him flying.

"Damasen, we're going to move you, okay?" He patted the giant softly.

"Hgnmph." Damasen grunted.

Percy took that as a yes.

With great difficulty and a frustrating language barrier, Maia and Percy strained and worked together to lift Damasen onto Maia's back. Trying to avoid the pain side of it, Percy had a slight hold on Damasen's blood to lift him, and eventually they had the giant sprawled on the drakon. Percy reached up and wrapped the reins around one of Damasen's large hands to anchor him slightly. He gave the whole scene a once over appraisingly, putting his hands in his surprisingly intact pockets.

"You good?" Percy said softly to Maia.

The drakon batted him gently in the chest, and Percy smiled fondly at her.

They set off at a quick pace, Percy leading. He had no clue if they were going the right way, but going past the river Styx seemed like a bad idea, so he tried to head away from it. He'd guess he was going East, if he had any idea which direction that was. Similar to a watch, he also felt like a compass would be going haywire down here. Damasen swayed in and out of consciousness, flat out on Maia's back but he otherwise seemed out of the woods pain-wise, even having a couple brief whispered conversations with Percy. Enemies followed and jumped them over the span of their couple day-long journey; none of them laid a scratch on Percy or his friends. But Percy was tiring quickly. He remembered the intense need to sleep vividly from last time he had the blessing.

The amount of times he dozed off on Annabeth, or took a quick nap in-between tasks back at Camp... One minute he'd be telling some kid of Demeter that his sword grip was wrong, the next he'd be yawning and dismissing the class altogether. He knew he didn't have long before the Achilles' blessing would force him to sleep and he would collapse like last time, physical exertion made the tiredness increase exponentially.

"We need to stop." Percy said absently.

He didn't really know who he was talking to, but the lack of conversation made him uneasy, so he talked to himself or to Maia, and just pretended she was replying. When they walked in dead silence, all he could hear was his pulse in his ears, and to him, it always sounded like heavy footfalls following them. He looked around, searching for high ground, or some kind of cave type shelter.

No such luck.

The ground around them was still covered in black spikes, but it was level, a few jutting rocks every now and then, and unfortunately, no hills in sight. Just the lazy red mist that hovered above them and in the distance, blocking out any sights. Percy breathed out hard through his nose, frustrated and worn out.

"We'll have to stay here." He mumbled, running a hand through his hair, like Annabeth and his mum used to do to calm him down sometimes.

Though their hands were probably cleaner, Percy reflected, gazing at the blood flecked and grubby hands curled around his weapons. A ground trembled for a beat as Maia settled herself down, seemingly impervious to the glassy floor. Percy gave the long plain they were on one last glance; he hated being so exposed like this. It made him want to curl up into himself. But they had to rest. A tight frown on his face, he knelt down to sit against Maia, his head resting on her side.

He needed to get Damasen to safety.

He needed to.

He-

Percy stopped himself. He bit his lip and chewed it for a few minutes, shredding the skin with his teeth. The same thought had been bouncing around in his mind ever since Damasen had been stung, drilling into his brain and keeping him awake even when it was his turn to sleep.

Leave him.

Percy couldn't. Damasen had saved his life, had been there for him when, without help, Percy would have died from blood loss. He was peaceful. He was his friend. But Percy couldn't help it. He knew, deep down, that he should go. Damasen was dead weight like this, and though it looked like he was on the mend, how long would it be before he was fully mobile? The same amount of time, weeks of just sitting around letting his paranoia consume him? _Longer_? Percy was torn. He had helped Percy when he had no one else (except Bob, and Bob wasn't the most useful). Percy didn't want the guilt on his conscience of leaving him stranded out here to recover. Something would find him, and Damasen didn't deserve that. The hands running through his hair increased in pressure until Percy was tugging on it. Could he be that _cold?_ That callous? Because if he was to leave, he would take Maia with him, no doubt about it, and Damasen would be alone. She was up and running fine, and could go a hell of a lot faster than him on foot.

Abandon Damasen and make it back to his family as soon as he could? Or stay, and travel slower while Damasen healed?

Percy didn't want to make a choice, he just didn't. Loyalty was his fatal flaw, but at this point his loyalty was torn, and he didn't know who it would be fatal towards. Percy shook his head. He was tired. His eyes were fluttering shut, like weights were tied to his eyelids.

If Maia saw anything, Percy was pretty sure she would wake him up. Or at least that's what he told himself as he tucked his knees under his chin, getting as comfy as he could, but he'd always had the ability to sleep wherever, so it didn't matter to him whether he was laying on a mattress, a drakon or the ground of Tartarus, just as long as he got some shut eye.

Percy jumped headfirst into sleep. There was no drifting, just out like a light switch.

And he found himself dreaming.

He could tell instantly it wasn't a normal, 'naked at school' kind of dream. There was a sense of being awake and lucid. In his dream, he span around, searching for something, anything. But it was all pitch black. A level of darkness similar to the Styx surrounded him, he couldn't see his hand when he waved it an inch from his face, not even an outline. It was too dark, Percy thought with a flare of panic at being snuck up on, too dark too dark too dark-

He sunk to his knees and plummeted forwards, the floor disappearing. He was falling again, away from home, from earth, from his family. He flipped in the air uncontrollably, and Percy strained to end the dream, but couldn't. A familiar voice echoed behind his falling body. He craned his neck round with great difficulty.

"Such a shame too. I heard the Gods liked this one." said a huge Hades at the edge of the surface, holding something in his hand, something that glinted gold.

Percy woke up with a start, limbs jolting, like someone had pressed a defibrillator to his chest on full power. Or that time he had high fived a charged up Jason.

He jumped to his feet, pulling out his swords before he even knew what was going on. Maia watched him from where she was sprawled, and part from her and Damasen, there were no monsters in sight, just black ground, black sky, and a receding red cloud above them. Percy tried to still his frantic heart, recalling his dream instead.

What was Hades talking about? An object? A _person_? What was the gold?

Gold like the Apollo cabin, like the weapons of the Roman Legion, gold like Annabeth's hair- he shook his head.

He was getting sidetracked.

Gold always linked to something in Percy's memory, and he couldn't help but see the glinting eyes of Kronos. He's gone, Percy thought quietly to himself, he's gone. It would be a while before Kronos would turn up again, hopefully after his lifetime. If Bob and Hyperion were down here, fully reformed, was he? In a gold bubble somewhere, waiting, hatching, rising. Ready to take over again. No, Percy shook his head. Hades had made it clear he felt no allegiance to Kronos. And it was someone or something that the Gods liked. A weapon? A demigod?

Percy kicked a rock, startling Maia, who let out an indignant snort. Damasen gave a snuffle and Percy lowered his swords reluctantly, dusting himself off. He observed the giant with a pained expression.

If he killed him now, Damasen wouldn't know it was him, and he could still leave-

No, no, _stop_! Percy shook his head fiercely at his own thoughts, reaching up to run a hand through his hair again. Damasen was his _friend_ , nothing changed that. And he didn't know if he could even kill Damasen on his own, anyway. Though in Tartarus, he wasn't sure of those rules applied. It felt like a massive free-for-all for everyone.

 _You could at least try,_ his mind said.

No, Percy replied firmly.

 _Cut him loose and run_ , his mind countered.

Shut up, Percy thought angrily.

All the arguments taking place in his head- if this was how the gods were feeling, Percy might actually come close to pitying them.

He could see himself now, looking down at the sleeping giant, an indecipherable expression on his face, before stabbing Damasen in the eyes, one sword for each, then finishing him off as best he could. He'd then swing up onto Maia, give her a slap on the back and they'd shoot off, leaving the bleeding giant on the floor.

Percy tried to bring himself back to the present. Damasen was back to being out cold, but the giant's hands kept twitching. Whether it was a good sign or a bad sign, Percy didn't know. He tightened the knots keeping Damasen in place to take his mind off it all, and scanned.

The blood tinted fog had risen, exposing shapes in the not too far distance. One dark, almost square structure had lazily wafted into view, along with a rise in the terrain, cliff sides that grew in height. It was about as big as the nail on Percy's smallest finger, so he knew it was far away, but it was also within sight. It was somewhere to aim for, rather than just . If it wasn't anything of importance, it could at least be a place to camp out, Percy reasoned.

He patted Maia, who huffed, but stood up. They walked quickly, Percy even wishing that monsters would appear, so at least he'd have something to actively fight, instead of feeling like he was walking towards some convoluted trap. The building got bigger and more defined as they got closer; it almost looked like some kind of temple. Mountain like areas were starting to appear again, dips and curves to go up and down. Cliffs that framed their walk, almost like a path.

Percy didn't like walking in the chasm parts; he felt trapped and herded in one direction, and as they walked cautiously through it, Percy's grips on his swords got tighter and tighter until his knuckles turned white, and his footsteps grew deliberately silent and careful.

The cliff sides were so tall, Percy almost missed the small hooded figure sat down in a little alcove, a gap in the black stone. He came to a grinding halt, Maia walking straight into his shoulder, knocking him forwards into a stumble.

"Hey." He called, taking a few steps in the direction of where they were perched.

The figure visibly straightened, twitching their head round. Percy rolled his wrists, spinning his swords to try and loosen the stiff joints. This screamed trap. He could be ambushed here, if they came down the sides, cut him off from every direction; it would be a bloodbath.

"If this is an ambush, I swear to you now, I'll kill each and every one of you," Percy warned, eyes flicking from side to side, before adding, "As slowly as I can."

He was sick and tired of monsters, and he wanted them to know it. His control over blood had increased at a rate even he was cautious of, through constant use and training, but he'd be damned (again) if it didn't give him an advantage, and a thrill to go with it. It always felt like it was just draining the anger right out of him.

Percy narrowed his eyes. The cloaked figure hadn't moved. He was about to speak again, still flicking his eyes in every direction, when they suddenly gave out a wailing sob, loud and piercing.

Percy winced at the noise.

"Shut up!" he hissed, striding over, Maia close behind.

He stood in behind whoever it was, their head bowed low as they cried, and Percy's eyebrows knotted into a scowl.

"Stop it! Do you want to attract more monsters?" Percy asked, pressing the tip of his sword into their back lightly.

They stopped crying instantly and tensed up.

"Just who might you be?" a low voice whispered.

"You first." Percy dug the tip in a bit.

"Oh, woe is me!" they cried out suddenly.

Percy blinked in surprise.

"I am Akhlys, goddess of misery, depression, all of those sad, sad things that just... make me... so... sad!" She burst into tears, burying her head in her knees, the black cloth around her rippling like a curtain.

Percy was stumped. What was he supposed to do here?

"Uh. That's um-" Percy had no idea what to say,"- that's great. Just try to think about, uh, puppies? Or something?" he offered awkwardly, but he knew his voice was far from reassuring. He let his sword down a little bit, no longer digging in and, giving a slight cough, began to, back off. What a weirdo.

"Wait!" Akhlys cried, grabbing the torn edges of his trousers.

Percy snatched her hand away from him, gripping her wrist tightly; while he wasn't sure if she was a threat, she certainly wasn't going to touch him. He'd had enough of monsters trying to go near him, and contact just made his skin crawl at this point, remembering how they had swarmed him.

"What is it?" Percy said levelly.

"Please, please, take me with you!" she cried, "I can't be out alone here anymore, it's so scary! Please, please!"

Huge ugly sobs wracked her body and the grip he had on her wrist loosened and tightened irregularly. Percy furrowed his brow.

"The monsters down here will get me, please protect me. I know a place we can go!" she pointed madly at the structure Percy had seen. "Not too far from here, there's an empty temple. It's safe, no monsters can enter. But I can't get there on my own!"

Percy scratched his nose. She looked and seemed harmless. And, if they were ambushed, he knew he would leave her to monsters to save themselves. She was someone to talk to, too, and Percy couldn't deny that he missed talking to someone. If only Bob was here...

"Why should I?" he asked her.

"You're a demigod." she said. "You're meant to help people. You're always kind to those who need help."

While Percy did feel a sense of duty to help her, he didn't trust her as far as he could throw her, and stood there for several long seconds while thinking.

"We're going that way anyway." Percy said eventually, not wanting to be out in the open any longer. "It's close, and it's shelter. I can't say I'll protect you, but you can come with us. I won't hurt you unless you give us reason to."

"Yes, absolutely, that's fair." She nodded vigorously. "Thank you, thank you!"

Percy nodded, helping her up at arm's length, his sword still very visibly on display.

"No problem." He said, even trying to cheer her up a little.

The goddess of misery couldn't be sad _all_ the time? But she had quietened, waiting in front of Percy expectantly. He didn't know whether to give her a weapon or not. In the end, his common sense won out, and he didn't give her anything. Maybe he was just being paranoid, he thought. He needed to let go a little, not everyone down here was bad. Just the large majority.

"Let's go." Percy said.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Dun dun DUNNNNN.**

 **I came up with this idea like halfway through the chapter. Just stay on your toes, everything might not be as it seems. Loads of you seem to like Nyx, you'll be happy to know she's in the next few Percy chapters.**

 **I think some major shizzle is gonna go down soon, maybe even next? REVIEWS ARE NICE AND READERS ARE NICE SO BE NICE, READERS, AND REVIEW.**

 **Yoyoyo updated 27/1/19**


	16. Annabeth III

**When I'm bored, I'll either sleep, eat, watch TV or write. For the next week or so, I can't do three of those. So, you'll be getting a lot of new chapters, YAY. You'll hate me after a while though, you have no idea what I have planned mwahahahaha...**

 **I HAVE FRIENDS, YA KNOW. Real life friends too. Lol have fun reading kiddos.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 16

Annabeth III

" _Wake up!"_ Annabeth yelled at the top of her lungs.

The Athena cabin filled quickly with swearing and groans, kids slamming their heads into the tops of the bunks, or onto where pillows had been taped on to the underside for sudden waking. Annabeth gave it no notice as she pulled an unwilling Malcolm out of bed by his ankles.

"For such a bunch of smart people, you're all _idiots_! We've slept in! Not _one_ of you set an alarm!" she shouted.

A chorus of 'I thought you were setting one' erupted as sibling turned to sibling and accused them, grey eyes narrowing at grey eyes.

"Why didn't _you_ set one?" came an accusing voice from a top bunk towards Annabeth.

"That's not the point and we're wasting time." Annabeth replied, "Get ready. We leave in ten."

Annabeth had slept in her clothes, not sparing a single thought to if they were crumpled or not. Though she'd packed her bag the night before, she found herself adding things at the last minute, all her 'just in cases'. She flung in an extra knife, deciding to throw in her entire ambrosia supply, and all the nectar in the biggest water bottle she had. Annabeth's hand hovered for a second over her cork pinboard. Pinned right at the top, above all her rosettes and notices, was one of her favourite pictures. It was her and Percy sat on the wooden jetty at camp, legs swinging, bright grins on their faces. They were about fourteen in the photo, pre-war, pre-Hera, pre-whatever-the-Hades-was-even-going-on-now, just about when Percy began to catch her up in height. Gods, she thought with a shake of her head, she had loved being taller than him then, but now she couldn't imagine feeling safer than when he had his arms around her, his chin resting on her head. A resolute nod of her head later, and she had unpinned it from the wall, and chucked it in her bag. She pulled on her boots and, in her haste, triple knotted one and only single knotted the other, and had to redo them.

Then she swung her backpack on and stepped out, leaving the cabin in their own personal Athena brand of organised chaos.

Annabeth observed the bustling camp as she strode through; in the forest, Hermes' kids were handing out swords like sweets, the green of the trees reflecting off blades polished to perfection. Aphrodite's were setting everyone's armour just right, nattering to each other as they concealed knives and lipsticks alike in hidden pockets. On the beach, Ares' kids just seemed to be yelling. She heard more than a couple Braveheart speeches as she went past.

She accepted her armour with a quick thanks and put it on with self taught expertise. It helped to calm her mind to do all the clasps and buckles just right. After a brief beat, she asked for Percy's armour as well, that had been taken off the boat to be polished. He'd need it when he got back. She still cursed when she remembered how he hadn't been wearing it when he'd fallen. Tucking it under he arm, she headed down to the shore. All of both Vulcan and Hephaestus' kids had been pulling all-nighters for several days.

And it showed.

The shore was absolutely littered with boats and flying machines. There was a long boat pulled up Hugh on the sand, a vivid skull and crossbones painted on the flag fluttering at the top. Next to it floated a kind of wooden speedboat, full to the windows with what seemed like every pillow in camp. She saw more than enough flags with crude slogans scribbled onto the back of orange Camp shirts, stuff like 'Gaia Sux!' or 'Demigods for the Win!' and even a couple 'Bring Home Jackson Squad'. Naturally, the majority were crossed out and spelt wrong, but it was the effort that counted. She noticed that most of the Romans had opted to build flying machines, or simply deigned to ride a pegasus or a chariot. And right in the middle of the impromptu fleet, the Argo II stood proudly, smoking and gleaming in various place. A brunette head bobbing about on the deck.

"Pipes!" Annabeth shouted upwards, planting her feet in the hot sand.

Piper stuck her head over the edge and waved her over with a free hand.

"Up here!" she called. "Come on up!"

Her other hand held a basket that glinted in the sun, filled with what Annabeth assumed to be swords.

Annabeth walked over, admiring the ships as she passed. She was always amazed at how during moments like these, everybody's creativity seemed to come out. Everyone gave her distinct looks as she went by; they'd clearly heard about Percy, looks varied between respect and wary. A strong girl with a hijab had a wrench in hand and was tightening some bolts on the mast of a very luxurious looking ship. Annabeth smiled at her and the girl saluted her, oil smeared across her face.

Rachel was at the base of the Argo II, chatting with Nico. An unlikely pairing, they seemed to get along well. Annabeth had half expected Nico to have disappeared by now; while he hadn't made any moves to leave, he never really gave her the impression he was comfortable on the Argo II. Maybe this time, he'd stay in camp for good, even if he wore a black skull shirt over an orange camp shirt. The closer she got, the more she could hear. Rachel was talking about art.

"-ould come find me sometime, I have the perfect canvas for you, ready to go, whenever you like." She was saying excitedly.

"Maybe, yeah." Nico said awkwardly, nodding.

He glanced at her, and Annabeth was vaguely amused to see a flash of panic in his eyes.

"Annabeth." Nico said, a little in relief. "We're ready to go as soon as you are."

"I'm ready." Annabeth said quickly. "Rachel, are you coming?"

"Me?" she asked, before shaking her head emphatically, "No, no. I'm awful with a sword. A hairbrush, or a paintbrush, maybe. But swords? Nope. Percy- uh-"

She trailed off a little sadly, but after there was no visible reaction from Annabeth or herself, she continued in a stronger voice.

"-he tried to teach me once, I almost stabbed myself in the foot." she chuckled.

"Then you'd better stay. Hold down the fort and keep this place safe." said Annabeth shortly, nodding once.

Rachel gave her a soft smile, and pulled Annabeth down into a hug. Her small hands patted her on the back, and Annabeth took a deep breath to try and relax, the smell of Rachel's wild red hair in her nose, the smell of oil paint and designer perfume.

"You're going to find him." Rachel whispered in her ear, "and you're gonna save the world. I'm insisting."

Annabeth snorted, but a small warm feeling in her heart blossomed slightly, where before it had just been painfully hollow. She gave her friend a grateful squeeze, before drawing back up to her normal height.

She turned to Nico. "Let's go."

They both waved their goodbyes to the few demigods staying, and to Chiron behind them, who she had never seen look so uncertain. His hooves clopped around on the sand below him, not staying still. It made her stomach get a bad twisty feeling to see him that way. The loss of Percy and the knowledge he was sending the majority of all his campers to- well- it wasn't certain death, per _se_ -

Annabeth distracted herself by waving once more, before walking up to the deck to overlook the rest. It looked like everyone was boarding now, some strapping in, some at the helm, a couple holding oars above their heads and making monkey noises. The few ships Camp Jupiter had were uniform and neat, no more than three or four to a boat. As she watched, she saw what looked like the last of her siblings stumbling out the forest to grab their armour and find their respective vessels. Good. That would be everyone.

"Alright!" she yelled, an almost instant silence falling. "Is everyone here?"

She waited a few beats as they all looked around.

"Yes!" called out Travis Stoll.

"Then let's go!" Cheers erupted and boats pushed off, flying machines taking to the sky. She spotted Reyna patrolling around on her pegasus Scipio, dismissing her own boats. Annabeth felt a lurch as the Argo moved, before cruising smoothly away from Camp.

"We're coming, Percy." Annabeth whispered. "We're coming for you."

o0o

It was several days later when things changed. They'd just eaten dinner, and Annabeth liked to head out onto the deck after. She liked to breathe in the sea air, resting her hands on the rail and just letting her head hang. She'd form plans in her head for scenarios in her wildest dreams. Plans for if she went after Percy down there, plans for what should happen if Gaia rose before Percy got out, styx, she even had a plan for if Percy was to suddenly burst out of the floor. She'd rant to herself about the Gods. And if tears sometimes mixed with sea spray, only the fish would know. Watching the waves clap together, she heard a shuffle behind her and whipped round, fist raised.

"Sorry." Frank winced. "Didn't mean to interrupt, but we're having a meeting downstairs. Reyna's just landed, she says she wants to talk with us."

"I'm coming." Annabeth said, tearing her eyes away from the calm sea.

She followed him into the meeting room, where everyone was already gathered, sitting down in Percy's chair without preamble.

"What is it?" she said straightaway, and Reyna leaned forwards to speak, cape sweeping along the floor, but was cut off.

"Basically, we united the camps, brought back the parthenon, yadda, yadda, yadda. But where are the Gods? And why aren't they here?" Leo asked.

"They're probably taking time to recover." Annabeth guessed as Reyna shot Leo a venomous look, causing the son of Hephaestus to flush, apologising quickly to the Praetor, who accepted it with a stiff nod.

In truth, Annabeth didn't know where the Gods were. And she didn't particularly care. The Gods had rarely cared about them before, so what if they needed help? So what if Percy's life depended on them? Or the world? Hera had started this, selfish bovine Goddess that she was, why should she do anything to help how it ends? If Percy and Jason were her champions, surely she'd want to, _oh_ , Annabeth didn't know, _keep them alive?_ They were all too self absorbed, unreliable, self distancing-

"Annabeth?" Hazel questioned from next to her.

She blinked a few times before looking up. A sharp pain was throbbing in her hand, which she unclenched stiffly, frowning at the crescent shaped indents on her palm. Hazel placed her hand over the marks.

"We're on our way. He knows we're coming for him. It's gonna be okay, you'll see." She said quietly, so only the two of them could hear it, though Annabeth spied Nico covertly listening in from his place leaning up against the wall.

"I'm fine, Hazel. Don't worry about me. I know-" Annabeth began.

"Annabeth!" Piper cried suddenly, drawing her dagger from where it was sheathed. "Behind you!"

Annabeth turned around quickly just in time to see a tail slither over the outside of the small, porthole window in the wall.

"How many?" Annabeth asked, annoyed; they'd barely been on the sea a few days and already they were being attacked.

"I saw about six or seven, maybe more, there were quite a few." Frank spoke up, twirling his spear.

"We can deal with that with just a few of us." Jason said firmly. "It'll be good practice, you three stay down here. We'll be back in a minute."

He beckoned to Hazel and Frank. Nico peeled himself off the wall as well to join them. Jason smiled at him in surprise, crinkling his little stapler lip scar. They all turned and prepared to charge up the stairs when Annabeth had a thought.

"Jason, wait." she lifted her eyes to meet his lightning blue ones.

He turned round.

"If there are any that can speak..." she said, uncertain of how to phrase it, "Just don't kill them. Bring one down here." She finished.

Jason gave her a strangled look.

"Annabeth-"

"Just. Do it, please." She said.

He nodded quietly, grabbing a section of rope that hung off the wall, and checked the others over before they went up. Reyna came to sit by her. They didn't speak for several minutes, both wanting to join, but both knowing how too many cooks would cause a bunch of monsters to eat them. The clashing of weapons above filling the silence. Leo began to fiddle with what looked like nuts and bolts in the corner.

"It's supposed to be a practically infinite place. It may not have seen him at all." Reyna said quietly, knowing where Annabeth was planning.

"Then I'll know at least that." Annabeth answered shortly, but grateful that at least someone else thought the same as her.

They didn't speak again, but Reyna made eye contact with her several times, and each time, Annabeth felt slightly more worried.

A clatter at the stairs drew everyone's attention. Leo ducked in and jerked back out.

"We got a live one!" he grinned, with a terrible Australian accent.

Claws outstretched, it lunged for them. Annabeth didn't move. She didn't have to. She could see the rope around its neck, and knew that it still wouldn't stand a chance even if the rope snapped.

"Careful!" shouted Hazel at Jason. "Its arms have come undone."

She wove in front of it, as Frank and Jason struggled to keep it back. Batting away its arms with ease, she eventually found a loop and hooked its arms in place.

"There you go." she said proudly.

Annabeth touched her on the shoulder to convey her gratitude, but her eyes didn't leave the writhing monster.

"You're all dead," the monster chanted, "I'll kill you all, dead, dead, dead, dead-"

Frank smacked it on the head to shut it up, as Jason attached the other side of the rope to the cabin wall. Annabeth took her dagger in hand, ready to go, despite the wide eyes of several of the others, but a hand on her wrist stopped her.

"No." said Piper. "Let me."

"I need to-" Annabeth started.

"No, you don't. Sit down, relax. It will talk, but I can make it talk a lot more easily. Charmspeak, remember? Sit." Piper hushed her, guiding her over to a chair.

Annabeth sunk into it, a little annoyed and more than a little impatient.

"Fine, fine, just hurry. Please." she ground out through her teeth, leaning on her elbows and glaring at the monster.

Piper stepped up in front of it, Jason instantly behind her with his sword hovering at its neck as a very clear warning.

"You're going to calm down and answer me truthfully." she started, "Have you been to Tartarus recently?" Piper asked, but the rolling warmth of her charmspeak couldn't hide the sudden drop in temperature at the name.

The monster stopped fighting immediately, going slack in its tight bonds, its eyes glazing over. Leo whistled, and Annabeth had to truly appreciate Piper's powers for just a second; they'd be nowhere without her, and Annabeth envied her gift, not for the first time.

"Yes," the monster chatted normally, as if it didn't just try to eat them, "I only got out a couple of days ago."

"How many days ago?" Piper pressed for specifics.

"Two."

It could have seen him. The thought crossed everybody's minds, and they exchanged looks.

"Did you come across any demigods down there?" Piper asked.

The room held their breath.

Annabeth leaned forwards.

The monster opened its teeth-filled mouth.

"No." it confessed..

"Dammit." Leo slapped the side of the boat angrily, and everyone slumped, Annabeth rubbing her temples.

"What else does it know?" Reyna asked wearily.

"We're not done yet." Annabeth said. "A few more questions, Pipes."

"Course." Piper nodded gently.

"Ask it if anything it knows has _mentioned_ a demigod."

Piper repeated the question, and blinked in surprise when the monster replied affirmatively.

"Yes." It answered, and the tension rose again instantly.

"Okay, okay, but what did they _call_ the demigod?" Piper asked, clasping and reclasping her hands.

"Jackson."

Everyone snapped to attention, a mess of conversations and questions breaking out immediately. Annabeth stood up and elbowed her way right in front of them to face the monster.

"Is he alive?" she asked directly.

"The monster or the demi-?"

"The demigod!" Annabeth yelled. "Is the demigod alive?"

"As far as I know, yes." the monster said, the charmspeak wearing off as Piper was no longer asking the questions.

"Is he armed?" Piper asked, ducking to stand next to Annabeth.

"Yes."

"Is he injured?"

"No."

Annabeth felt a desperation for answers she'd never know rise up in her, and she clenched her hands again.

"He's healed up then, somehow." Piper guessed, a little puzzled before carrying on. "Is he close to the doors?"

"No. He is far away, and it will get more dangerous the closer he gets."

Piper furrowed her brows. She turned to the room.

"Any more questions?" she directed it especially to Annabeth, who was glaring heavily at the monster.

"Why did the other monster mention Percy?" asked Hazel curiously, who had appeared behind Jason's elbow.

"It was running away from him." the monster said, and a few nervous snorts echoed in the room.

Annabeth stopped tensing. She even seemed to smile to herself.

"Of course." She mumbled to herself. "Seaweed brain."

Annabeth, biting her lip, turned and walked out the room.

"Thanks for your time." said Piper sarcastically, before pulling Katoptris out, and rearing her arm back.

A few seconds later, there was gold dust on the floor, reassurance about Percy in their minds, and the noise of a piercing scream from outside.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **I can't tell if this is really long or just has a lot of dialogue stretching it out. Either way it takes a buttload of time scrolling down.**

 **So what I planned to happen won't happen in this chapter, there's too much going on already. Next non-Percy chapter then? Also, who was screaming? SPOILER ALERT, it's actually coach hedge finding out his baseball uniform got dyed pink in the wash- I'm kidding, I'm kidding, chill.**

 **REVIEW AND BE A BABE**

 **Yoyoyo updated 28/1/19**


	17. Percy XI

**Hey muffins. I was planning out a drarry fic and I was like, oh this seems familiar, went into my Fic Ideas folder, bam, there it was only with Dumbledore instead (not Dumbledore/Harry, weirdos, although I will admit to reading one of those once ;) nvm) But I can't decide which one to post?**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 17

Percy XI

"We need to break." Percy said flatly to Akhlys, his voice dragging in exhaustion.

"But we're so close!" Akhlys protested.

Percy didn't like the tone of frustration he heard in the Goddess' voice. She would do it at his pace or she wouldn't do anything at all. It was her fault they'd been walking for so long anyway. And with Damasen strapped to Maia's back, she couldn't fetch food for any of them, and Percy's stomach growls had made him paranoid more than once. He was tired, he was starving, and he was losing his patience with just about everyone, including himself. ' _Not too far'_ she had told him. ' _Just a little bit further'._ Yeah, right. The temple thing had been further away than any of them had thought. He knew for sure that there were holes in his shoes appearing

"I don't care. Damasen might wake up." Percy said, halting Maia. "And I need a miracle like that right about now." he muttered.

He administered the Phlegthon water on the barely visible injury, splashing it over and focusing the water through Damasen's body. His knowledge of the inner workings of both human and monster bodies by now was thorough, but he still wasn't sure why Damasen wasn't waking up. He guessed the poison remained, because he probably whould have woken up by now if it was only the stab wound that needed healing.

He'd tried to control the poison and remove it, but it was difficult to weave through Damasen's body without poisoning more of him. So he stuck with the water. Percy tried to do it every few hours or so, but he had no way to know if it was regular. The last administration could have been a week ago, or 5 minutes ago, he didn't have a clue.

When Damasen stopped moaning in his sleep at the burning, Percy fixed his bonds and stepped back, taking several long deep breaths. He'd need to keep some of that water for himself as well, though he found the air was poisoning him slower and slower each time. He hated to think he was adapting, but he'd prefer it over feeling like someone was shredding him from the inside out.

"And now we go?" Akhlys said behind him.

Percy scowled; it was like a kid going ' _are we there yet'_ in the back seat.

"No, I need to rest or I won't be able to fight." he said shortly.

"If we get to the temple quickly, you won't need to fight. And you could rest there." Akhlys said, and though she had her hood up, he felt as if she was staring him in the eye.

"No." Percy said again, trying to stop his voice from snapping at her. "I don't know what's in there. I can't risk getting caught off guard. I need rest." Percy explained with a hard look on his face.

Akhlys dropped her side of the argument almost instantly.

"Of course, of course. I will keep watch." Akhlys shuffled over to a stone and slumped down, a mournful sigh floating out from under her hood.

Percy frowned uncertainly. Maia was sighing deeply, the drakon snoozing next to him. She had a lot to carry, she needed sleep. But this meant she couldn't watch out too. If he was to do this; to trust her to watch over him, he'd need to go all in. He couldn't sleep with one eye open again, or he'd end up not getting enough sleep overall. He tallied up his odds in his head. Akhlys was minor God- she couldn't really do him damage, could she? He had almost forgotten about the blessing on him, he still felt the same amount of vulnerability. Despite spending about a year with the Achilles Blessing on him, he had forgotten how much he obsessed over his mortal point, even when he couldn't remember where it was.

Still, the urge to sleep was pressing down on his eyes, like cotton wool had replaced his brain, and was expanding inside his head. He nodded slowly.

"Okay," he murmured, "You take watch. Wake me if you see anything."

His knees buckled at that point, and he crashed to the floor. He crawled with weak arms to lean against Maia, who subconsciously wrapped her tail around his torso in her sleep. He breathed in. The dense air of Tartarus never ceased in being so suffocatingly hot, and he could feel each bead of sweat that ran down his sides. Yet he still leaned into the drakon, whose leathery hide would have practically scalded him had it not been for his blessing, just happy to be with someone.

He breathed out.

He woke up a while later, a little disorientated as his eyes snapped open, and quickly ran his hands along his body. He didn't seem to be injured. Nothing seemed amiss. He checked over Maia and Damasen, the former waking up as he did so, staring up at him with sea green eyes. Standing back up, after patting Maia on the head softly, he walked over to Akhlys. She still had her cloak over her, obscuring her face.

"What's with the cloak?" he asked, out of sheer curiosity.

She jumped a mile into the air, clearly not hearing him get up. Percy twitched.

"I- uh- what?" Akhlys babbled. "The cloak? Oh, the _cloak_. It's to cover me, because- because if you look under the cloak, you get very depressed." Akhlys stammered out.

Percy scratched the back of his neck. He knew he didn't scare her that badly.

"Okay." he said quietly.

She was definitely hiding something. What, exactly, he didn't know. She was using the cloak to cover something. Maybe she had a face only her mother could love. Maybe she had an extra eye. Maybe she kept a snake under it, hey, he didn't know, but he kept her at a distance as they started moving again.

The temple in the distance was rapidly getting bigger. Percy started to try and make a plan. He had only gotten as far as leaving Maia and Damasen outside and going in guns blazing. Or swords blazing. It sounded like a pretty good plan to him. What were they gonna do, stab him?

As they got closer, Percy started chewing his lip. He swung his bronze sword back and forth, holding on tightly. The temple type structure was a lot bigger than he thought.

And it lot more terrifying.

It was bigger than the Big House at Camp, like a mansion almost, definitely no longer a temple as he had first thought. Worshipping anything in there would be wrong. The roof spiked high, and was so dark that it was barely noticeable. It was at least three stories high, and had windows along the walls, but though it in the poor light of Tartarus, Percy had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to see into the house even in the light from the surface. They were pitch black windows that seemed to swirl as he squinted. The high doors at the front were shut. And though it was dark in Tartarus, it seemed almost unnaturally dark in and around the general area. It was as if light bent around the mansion, too scared to go near it. No monsters either, Percy thought with a frown; he hadn't seen a single monster on the way there. The air felt dead, like it was hung from the ceiling of the great pit, just dangling there for them to breathe in. Even the glassy black ground had lost the sheen to its crystalline rocks.

Percy's brows furrowed as he took the whole place in. Something was wrong. He knee something was wrong, could feel it. It all looked too- too civilised to be down here. No one should be living down here.

Percy drew their group to a halt. No one was going any nearer until he figured out what it was. As much as he wanted to turn tail and head back, he knew there was nothing back in that direction. Any more walking could very possibly kill him. He couldn't take being lost anymore. He hated their lack of direction, aimlessness that he knew was doing nothing to help his friends on the surface. And hey, who knows? Maybe if someone lived here, he could ask for directions.

He debated tying up Maia but decided that she should be able to run and take Damasen away should things go wrong. He turned to Akhlys.

"We'll clear it out and come back for them." he said. "I don't want them in there. Come on."

He drew his sword and edged forwards. Going through the doors seemed like a plan. Should he knock? He was torn between the element of surprise and just being polite. He could smash a window and break in but he highly doubted that that was going to get him in the good books of whoever lived there, if they were home. No one would help him if he just suddenly crashed through their window asking if he was going the right way.

Percy twitched.

Movement behind him.

 _Wait_ -

He ducked.

"What are you _doing_?" he hissed at Akhlys, sword at her throat in less than a second.

She had _swung_ at him.

She was facing him, hood still irritatingly obscuring her face, but it didn't detract from the large rock in her hand, ready to bludgeon him in the back of the head. He had barely had enough time to react.

"Enough is enough." Akhlys snapped, what he presumed to be her chin up high above his sword. "I have done my part."

Percy had a sinking feeling in his stomach, but the lower it sank, the more it twisted into anger. What had he been thinking? He shouldn't have given her even the bare minimum of trust. He should have ditched her, wounded her, incapacitated her. They hadn't got this far to be taken down by some- some pathetic minor Goddess.

"Whatever you think you're planning to do, I promise you I will _double_ it on you." Percy's eyes burned into her, stepping around slowly so he had both Akhlys and the mansion thing in the same field of vision.

 _"I_ won't be doing anything." Akhlys said, with a slight quaver in her voice, a voice that had significantly changed in the last few seconds, from low and miserable to cold and cruel.

It all happened in a split second.

Akhlys jerked her head back, away from his sword, turning to scream at the house behind her.

"My Lady, the demigo-!"

His sword was embedded in her back in a heartbeat, thrown with such force that it knocked the Goddess down to her knees with a cry. He could see it protruding from the front of her cloak. She howled in pain again, and he called it back into his hand, this time catching it. The sword dripped with ichor.

My _lady_?

A bang like a gunshot made him flinch, his heart pounding out beats like a samba in his chest. His breathing grew faster. The doors of the mansion had been thrown open with such force that they had bounced off the wall. A winged figure emerged, seemingly growing bigger with every step, until she towered above even the mansion, at least forty feet tall, dark dress trailing across the ground smoothly.

Percy took a few steps backwards hastily, as he felt the sheer power oozing off of the figure. The woman was a churning figure of ash and smoke, as big as the Athena Parthenos statue, but very much alive. Her dress was void black, mixed with the colors of a space nebula as if galaxies were being born in her bodice. Her face was hard to see except for the pinpoints of her eyes, which shone like quasars, her shadowy skin occasionally solidifying to a beautiful, almost black, brown. When her huge black wings behind her beat, waves of darkness rolled over the cliffs. Percy had to crane his neck up just to see her, blinking in awe.

Akhlys stumbled forwards, not necessarily wanting to get any closer either. She lifted pale hands to her cloak, throwing down the hood. Percy narrowed his eyes, his attention shifting.

She did not look like how he had pictured. One side of Akhlys' face was curved up into a bright smile, the other half a sinister picture of bared teeth, razor sharp. Comedy and tragedy masks, merged in the Goddess' skin. Both sides moved when 'Akhlys' began to babble.

"My Lady Nyx, mother, I bring you a demigod, a demigod who is trapped in the pit, with skin of iron, mother, he has the blessing of the Styx."

Nyx, the primordial, the protogenoi, goddess of the night, sister of Tartarus and Gaia.

Percy closed his eyes.

"Silence, Apate. Let the boy say his last words before he dies." Nyx hushed with a smoothly powerful voice.

Percy felt his hands tremble a little and clenched his weapons tighter. He opened his eyes.

" _Apate_?" His voice shook with anger, and he directed it all at the Minor Goddess in front of him, somehow trying to ignore that Primordial watching him.

Akhlys, no, Apate, smirked, despite the wound going through her, and the way her hands shook as she pressed hard to stop the bleeding.

"Of course I'm not Akhlys, that whining mess isn't this clever." she boasted. "I am Apate, Goddess of deceit. That, however, is obvious." Apate crowed infuriatingly.

Percy thought of Maia and Damasen, tucked behind a rock barely a few metres away. They'd never make it out of here alive.

"So you lured me here, because you knew I wanted shelter, all under a fake name. You know that you could have just used your real name, right?" Percy snapped, "Nobody, and I mean, _nobody_ , has ever heard of _Apate_. Your 'deceit' wasn't that awe-inspiring. I've met better liars than you in New York alone."

Apate flushed with rage but Nyx observed him. She stepped forwards, and began to shrink. Percy paled, but stood his ground, until the Primordial only stood at six feet tall, around his height.

"You claim to know those better at deceit than the Goddess of deceit? Who would be a better candidate?" Nyx asked him directly, and Percy tried not to let the emptiness in her eyes knock his knees together.

Percy swallowed.

" _I_ would." He lifted his chin with fake arrogance. "I am more deceitful than this- this _worthless_ goddess."

Apate spluttered as Percy continued, hoping beyond hope that he could lie his way through the whole situation.

"This giant?" Percy gestured behind him, praying that Damasen was still unconscious. "I tricked him. I acted like his friend, persuaded him to accompany me across this place." Percy lied. "He was stung by Kampé, a useful distraction which gave me time to kill her. He tamed the drakon here, which I use at my disposal to carry whatever I please. Bodyguards for hire, only I don't pay a single drachma."

He hated the words that tumbled out of his mouth, but couldn't stop, knowing that just stabbing some things wasn't going to get him out alive. He needed to trick her. And more importantly, he needed to keep talking. So he continued:

"We- I was previously accompanied by a titan as well. Iapetus." Percy said, finding it easier to use the titan's real name over his given name, "Although after a dip in the Lethe, courtesy of me, he didn't know that. He only knew what I told him. He was nothing but a strong puppet to me. Killed by Kampé, but I got his worth out of him, manipulating him to kill his brother Hyperion. I have barely a scratch on me because of my deceit. Can Apate say the same?"

"All parlour tricks-" mumbled Apate before Percy cut her off as sudden inspiration hit.

"And the final deceitful act that surely puts me above you? I tricked _you_ , Apate." Percy lied through his teeth, keeping a knowing smile on his face until it was beginning to hurt, "I lied. I lied when I first met you. I knew who you really were. I knew where you were taking me, to who you were taking me. Monsters didn't attack us because they knew your plan, yes? I got a free pass to this place, and the greatest honour of all: I get to meet the Lady Nyx." Percy finished, feeling slightly sick at himself.

Nyx regarded him with an indecipherable expression.

"Then perhaps you should be the new God of Deceit." she said. "If my children fail to serve me correctly, maybe their spirit should move on, and find a more _convincing_ host."

Percy struggled to not raise his eyebrows.

"But _mother_ -!" Apate switched her targets, choosing to growl at Percy instead. "He is lying to us. He did all that with good intentions, I know trickery when I see it. You cannot fool me."

Percy cursed like a sailor in his head. He hated Apate with a passion. If he died here, if he didn't make it back to his family... she would pay.

"Then was that not the biggest deceit of all?" Percy threw caution to the wind, and hated how desperate it came out.

But "Perhaps." was all Nyx said.

"Although I have to respectfully decline the offer of Godhood, my lady Nyx." Percy said, bowing his head to hide his darting eyes, "As to be anything associated with you, would be too much of an honour."

"But now then who would be the goddess of deceit?" Nyx asked coolly, and Percy hated how much he she was just playing with him, nipping her prey in the water before snapping.

"There are plenty of deceitful people out there, check the governments first, my lady." Percy tried. "But at the end of it all, the only thing I can heavily recommend is that you do not need to burden yourself with such a pitiful goddess as Apate." he growled in the direction of the minor Goddess.

Percy had no idea what he was aiming for. All he knew was that he wanted Apate to pay, and he just wanted to get out ASAP, and the longer he talked, the longer he seemed to be staying alive.

"Then kill her."

Percy blanked.

Apate gasped. "Mother!"

"S- _sorry_?" Percy asked, finding himself at a complete loss.

"I shall find a replacement. _You_ will dispose of her." Nyx's eyes glittered hungrily. "If you are so powerful and she is not, get rid of her. If you cannot...then who do I really have no need for?"

Percy's eyes flickered to Apate, who was practically quivering in indignant fury.

She wanted him...to kill Apate.

To kill a Goddess.

He knew Gods and Goddesses could die, that they could fade, but...could they be killed? Could he kill a Goddess?

He glanced at Nyx, and he knew in an instant the she didn't think he could do it. He knew that she would- _will_ \- kill him if he didn't do it. She was just waiting to kill him. Surely she wouldn't have such a disregard for her own children? But Percy had seen the Gods with their children. He knew they could kill them in a second. Her spirit would move on? He guessed that's how it worked with minor Gods and Goddesses. No one really worshipped the minor ones anymore, maybe their spirit just flitted from one body to another.

He turned to face Apate, his heart pounding out of his chest. Could he kill this current body? He'd killed a lot of monsters over the years. When he was twelve, he thought he'd never be able to kill a titan. When he grew older, he never thought he'd be able to kill a giant. Maybe... maybe this was just the next level up for him. It wasn't as if he didn't want to kill her.

Nobody would stop him.

Ichor was like blood, wasn't it?

Apate must have seen his face settle on a resolution, must have seen his eyes turn onto her with an expression he himself didn't know how to describe, for she charged at him, throwing herself off the floor, her wound irrelevant to her and her hands crackling with sparks. Percy ducked as she lunged, slashing at her torso, cutting her deeply. Apate howled, trying to rip at his face.

"You've ruined everything! I'll kill you!" she screamed. "Then your giant, then your drakon!"

Her hands glanced off of him, nothing more than an annoyance, and with every failed swipe, the noise of broken glass crunching echoed in Percy's head, stamping down the final internal wall stopping him from doing this.

"I'll find that titan too, Iapetus, I'll trick him into fighting with us! Gaia was right! You will lose _everything_!" she taunted, trying to grab his head and throw him, but Percy just grabbed her wrists in one hand.

Percy angrily flipped her over his shoulder, her breath audibly knocked out of her, and dared a look at Nyx.

She was just stood there, watching, making no visible move to intervene.

Percy went back to his fight, eyes darting to the gold seeping through Apate's cloak, from one growing stain to another. An idea formed in his head.

He raised his hand, and began to pull the ichor out of Apate's wounds.

Her face paled, even the cheerful smile vanishing, but as he increased the pressure throughout her body, he could see her face drop further as she realised he had her pinned down and unable to move.

The pool of gold around her got bigger and bigger.

She panicked. She began to plead.

"I didn't mean it!" she cried, "I can give you anything you want! Safe transport out of here! Riches untold, undiscovered by man and God alike!"

Her chest moved up and down faster; Percy watched the ichor weave through the glassy floor beneath her.

"I'm not lying!" she shrieked, "I mean it! For real this time! No tricks! I swear!"

Her limbs began to shake and convulsed, and her wide eyes met his.

"You're not lying?" Percy asked, breathing out heavily through his nose, and he gritted his teeth, "Tell me why don't I believe you."

Percy continued, looking her in the eye as lights flickered on and off within them. Ichor was strange, thicker than monster blood, yet thinner at the same time. He felt like it was made of multiple violin strings, each one thrumming with a glow of power, and he could almost hear the pings as he disconnected them, pulled them apart. He ripped them off, one by one. Apate's movement slowed down, her begging turning into low indecipherable moans.

Soon, he felt that there was only one string left, only one more tie connecting her to the world. It felt fragile in his hands, and thinner than a hair. He'd never killed a God before. He briefly wondered if his dad would be angry.

If he ever found out.

He broke the last golden strand.

A blinding light erupted in front of him, causing Percy to instinctively throw his arm over his eyes. He could feel the heat against his skin, a slight burning, despite the blessing.

When he slowly lowered his arm, his gaze was drawn down. Apate's body was surrounded by a large scorch mark, seared into the ground. Her skin was white, completely white, drained of all colour. Her lifeless eyes gazed into nothing. She looked... human.

Percy looked away. Maybe he had gone too far. Maybe he should have listened to the voices in his head that sounded suspiciously like Annabeth. But he didn't have time to dwell on it. A clapping came from his right and he slowly turned around.

Nyx didn't stop staring at him as she applauded.

"A demigod with the power to kill gods." she said, with a hunger in her eyes, "What an interesting addition you will make."

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **I didn't really like the way Nyx was portrayed in the books. I know that it's Rick's stuff and that's fine, but I would have liked to think that a primordial goddess would be a bit smarter. Is my version okay?**

 **My neck, my stomach and my back are all killing me, I'm about to flip a table.**

 **Yoyoyo updated 28/1/19**


	18. Percy XII

**First I bang out the chapters, then I bang ur mum.**

 **...Jesus Christ.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 18

Percy XII

"Addition? My lady?" Percy asked hesitantly, adding the title on to the end.

She seemed the type who enjoyed flattery, and hadn't told him to call her anything different. He made a mental note about it as she smiled in a satisfied way.

"Yes, addition. I can only leave this place at night, free to roam most of the earth. During the day, I am often left here to amuse myself. So I collect things. Most of my children, once they are created, stay down here and fetch things for me. Food, trinkets," she cast her gaze over him, "Demigods. You will stay down here with me now. Kill a couple Gods for me here and there, it'll be entertaining."

"My lady," Percy felt a trickle of panic as he spoke, "it sounds an honour, but-"

"Good. Now come." she cut him off regally, and swept away.

Percy breathed out heavily.

"My lady, I can't." he said quickly.

She turned around.

" _Can't_?"

"I can't- I can't live down here." he tried to explain.

"And why not?" she asked in a low, dangerous tone.

"I don't belong down here." Percy stressed.

"Seems to me like you do." Nyx said, not so subtly glancing at Apate's lifeless body next to them.

Percy opened his mouth in indignation, before slamming it shut into a thin frown. She was the one who made him do it in the first place, she couldn't criticise him for it now. Percy looked at the dead Goddess on the floor. His eyes flicked from the metallic pool of gold on the ground to the milky white eyes, open but staring into nothing. He had wanted her to pay. He had. He hadn't even known if he could have do it in the first place. It was just like fighting a titan, Percy told himself. Should he feel bad? Should he feel proud? Percy just felt unsure.

"It's not that," he ended up saying, still trying to explain, "Before I had this blessing, the air alone was killing me. I really don't belong here. And... I have people I need to get back to on the surface. I promised. And if I don't get back, monsters will continue to not die, Gaia will rise and-"

"Gaia?" Nyx said, suddenly angry. "What does she have to do with this?"

Percy blinked. She didn't know? He'd presumed they all knew what was going on, chatting about it at some weekly primordial wine tasting. It seemed like a pretty hard thing to miss.

"She's rising." he said slowly, causing Nyx to screech and start pacing, black wings beating harder, rolling waves of darkness flowing over Percy, who shivered before carrying on, "She opened the doors of death nearly a year ago, and chained them down. Monsters don't die properly anymore, they can come back as soon as they're killed. They reform in seconds. There was another Great Prophecy, and we thought it would be in a couple decades, but instead it just decided to come early. It's about seven demigods, we're trying to stop her."

"Good! Gaia must not rise." Nyx snapped. "She will burn the world, I know her. And if the world burns, what does that leave for the rest of us, huh? Wait-"

She looked him dead in the eye and Percy tried not to squirm.

"You are in this prophecy?" she demanded.

"Yeah, unfortunately. Uh- my lady." he tacked on the end.

"Tell me it."

Percy breathed out of his nose. It wasn't that he didn't know it. Oh, he knew it off by heart alright, could hear it in his head when he closed his eyes.

"Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,

To storm or fire the world will fall,

An oath to keep with a final breath-" Percy was cut off.

"-And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death." Nyx gasped.

Percy blinked.

"You've heard it?" he asked in surprise.

"Of course," Nyx said, "I was _there_ several millenia ago when an Oracle of Delphi delivered it for the first time. There have been countless heroes attempting to fulfill it, even Hercules and Theseus attempted it, but to no avail. You say yet another group is trying again? And that you are part of it?"

Percy nodded with a grimace.

The glints in Nyx's eyes darted about as she clearly thought. The shadows above them twisted, and Percy glanced up, swearing he saw claws in the darkness, the shine of multiple eyes. He dropped his eyes, trying to ignore it.

"A child of a prophecy was worshipped in my time." Nyx snapped. "How could they let you down here? Is this part of the prophecy?"

"No." Percy said, "It's... it's complicated. I fell down here so the girl I love wouldn't. So she'd be safe. But now I have to get back, I need to get to the Doors of Death and get out, to finish the prophecy with the others. I appreciate you letting me live, _really,_ I do, but I'm sorry- I need to leave."

For a second, Percy saw her just reaching forwards and tearing his head off. He found himself slightly leaning his head back, just in case. Instead, Nyx just watched him closely before answering.

"You must love her a lot." said Nyx before composing herself. "Gaia must not rise. I won't let that happen. You need to go, I won't keep you here. You will be under my protection."

Percy blinked several times more, surprised.

"Thank you, my lady." he said eventually, feeling like he had dodged a Primordial Goddess sized bullet.

"Gaia has to be stopped." Nyx murmured, almost to herself. "Are all seven of you still alive?"

Percy nodded.

"I know you're a child of Poseidon or Neptune, I can smell it underneath that blessing of yours. The others?"

"Athena, Jupiter, Aphrodite, Mars, Pluto and Hephaestus." Percy ticked them off on his fingers.

"A mix of Romans _and_ Greeks?" Nyx mused, "Gaia must be causing quite some havoc, then."

"She's brought all the giants back as well." Percy said.

Nyx glanced at Damasen. "All but one," she said, "The giant here- how long ago was he poisoned?"

Percy shrugged. "I don't know. Wait, can you tell the time down here?"

Nyx gave him a flash of a serene smile as she walked over to Damasen. "Can't _you_?"

Nyx stood over the giant. Maia didn't bat an eyelid at her, even seemed to relax as the primordial ran a hand covered in twinkling diamond rings along Damasen's head, narrowing her eyes. The smoke and ash of her skin darkened, and she looked back up at an awkwardly stood Percy.

"He does not have long left." she said in a very business-like manner.

Percy did a double take.

"To wake up or to live?" he asked, slightly panicked.

"To awaken." Nyx waved her hand. "You may stay here until he wakes, I shall seal off the area."

Huge black gates, twisted into patterns like molten metal, shimmered into view. Towering at around thirty feet, Percy couldn't help but feel slightly trapped. They swung shut with a clang, inbetween two cliffs. A wash of dark grey ran over everything within, then disappeared, sinking into the shadows of the ground when it was done.

"To get where you need to go, you will need to go through my house. But you must rest first. I am sure your blessing demands it." Nyx purred. "Rest, my little Godkiller."

Percy furrowed his brow at the title she gave him. He wasn't a Godkiller. He'd killed someone who had put him and his friends in danger. She just happened to have been a Goddess. It wouldn't have mattered what she was.

But Percy agreed to take a rest break. It wasn't as if he truly had a choice. Helping Damasen down from Maia, who looked relieved to no longer have to carry the giant, he laid him out on the floor. There wasn't really another place to put him. He sat with Damasen on the edge of a rock, listening to his breathing. Percy kept looking up at the dead Goddess a few mere metres away.

He wasn't sure what to think about it all, so he just tried not to think about it. Keyword, tried.

In fact, he was so distracted, he nearly missed Damasen's eyes flickering open.

"Damasen!" Percy cried, leaning over him. "You're awake!"

"I seems I am." Damasen agreed wearily, already pushing himself up shakily.

"Whoa!" Percy jumped up to help him into a sitting position, keeping a hand on his shoulder to hold him steady.

Damasen glanced around.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"Nyx's house. " Percy said sheepishly.

Damasen's eyes bulged.

"The Mansion of Night?" he said, dumbfounded.

"She's cool with us staying here." Percy added to reassure him.

"You talked to her?" Damasen asked, aghast. "Perseus, not even we giants go near this place! How are we- did she-?"

"Hey, dude, chill, it's okay. I know it seems all oh-snap-she's-gonna-kill-us, but it's totally okay, we're under her protection. Apparently she wants Gaia to rise just as much as we do." Percy responded, shrugging.

Damasen shook his head in disbelief. He didn't seem to know what to say. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Damasen slowly gaining enough strength to sit up properly, starting to stretch his limbs. Percy jogged his legs up and down from where he was sat.

"You know what?" Percy said, out of the blue, "You know what one of the first things I'm gonna do when we get out is?"

Damasen looked at him, raising his eyebrows.

"I'm gonna order ten burgers- no, no-" Percy corrected himself as his stomach growled again, "-a hundred burgers. All with fries, throw in some nuggets and a whole fountain of milkshakes. And I'm going to sit there, and eat it all in one single sitting."

Damasen didn't move from his vaguely slumped position, but Percy could see him smiling.

"Like, the drakon steaks are okay, don't get me wrong, but knowing they're made of Maia is just a little weird." He knew he was rambling, but just the thought of normal food had been making his stomach claw for attention for weeks.

"What will you do?" he asked Damasen.

"What do you mean?"

"When we get out." Percy clarified, "What will you do?"

Damasen seemed to think for a few minutes, and Percy waited for him to answer, his eyes wandering through the dark red clouds, searching for shapes, but only seeing pools of blood, and tendrils of mist like arms reaching out for salvation.

"I don't know." he said eventually. "It's been so long. I don't know what it's like up there anymore."

"You could come to camp." Percy said, tearing his eyes away to smile. "It's run by a centaur called Chiron, I bet you'd be friends. And I'm sure we'll need a few more instructors by the time this is all over."

"What would I teach? I'm not one for violence."

Percy had to agree, whenever they fought, he could see the toll it took on Damasen mentally, to have to keep causing harm and creating violence. He just wanted peace, and no one would grant him it; Percy knew the feeling.

"You could teach..." Percy trailed off before an idea hit him, "You could teach demigods how to tell the fates to stuff it. How prophecies and quests don't dictate their lives. How to make their own destinies, like you did. Gods know we need it."

"That sounds good." Damasen said, with a small wistful smile.

He lifted his head, looking at Percy. No, Percy thought as Damasen's pupils wandered over his shoulder, looking _behind_ Percy.

"What's over there?" Damasen asked, furrowing his brow weakly, probably still in a little leftover pain from Kampê's sting.

Percy followed his gaze all the way over to Apate's lifeless body.

Ah.

"That was the Goddess of Deceit, Apate." Percy said carefully.

"Was?" Damasen asked, surprised. "Nyx killed her?"

"No." Percy said uncertainly, "I did."

Damasen looked straight at him.

"What?" he asked, as if he thought he had misheard.

"She tricked me." Percy found himself a little desperate to explain himself, but relaxed the more he spoke, the more he thought out loud, "She lead us here with the intent to kill us, she said she was going to kill you, hunt down Bob. I couldn't let that happen, and Nyx would have killed me if I hadn't done anything. So I killed her."

Percy nodded at the end, a little wobbly, but firm. He had killed a Goddess today. And... and he was strangely okay with that. It was kill or be killed, he told himself. She had deserved it. Now he had a Primordial on his side, he reasoned. That was good. Was killing her good? Percy didn't know. He'd thought about killing Gods before, coughHeracough, he'd just never thought he'd have the guts to try or the power to actually do it. But now he had. He'd finally done it. Maybe it was just the next level for hin, he thought again. He forced himself to look at the body once more before glancing back.

Damasen kept staring him in the eye.

"Back in my day, demigods were not so powerful." was all he said at last.

"It's probably just the blessing making everything stronger." Percy dismissed.

Damasen looked doubtful, but didn't elaborate on his thoughts.

"When do we go?" he said instead.

"Nyx wanted us to rest, for me to wait until you woke up. I haven't slept but I'm good anyway, I took a power nap before we got here. Either way, once you're goof, I think she said we're supposed to go through her house."

Damasen looked unsure.

" _That_ house?" he hesitated, and Percy understood, not wanting to go into the looming mansion either.

"It'll be fine." Percy reassured the giant, "We can do it. We haven't come this far to give up now."

Damasen nodded, but paled as his eyes slid over Percy's shoulder.

"Excellent." said the smooth voice of Nyx behind him. "Then it's time."

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Girls are so hot I want like 20. I'll even settle for 1. It's just they're so snuggly?**

 **WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON PICNICS? If it's anything negative, ur blocked and you don't get to find out how it ends and I'll come find you and beat you with a flip-flop.**

 **Yoyoyo updated 30/1/19**


	19. Annabeth IIII

**Well isn't it a beautiful day! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and here's a new chapter! What could possibly go wrong?**

 **You want a chapter update, I'll give you a chapter update.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 19

Annabeth IIII

Annabeth walked out the cabin, hearing a thud behind her which she guessed was the monster being put down. Good. It was done, fulfilled its purpose.

She rested on the rail, her hands stretching out to hold on. Gods, she was tired. She was tired of all this, she just wanted Percy back _right now_ , right next to her. She wanted to tell him again that she loved him, that she loved him so much it hurt.

She stared into the water, tinted dark orange from the sunset over it. The air was getting cooler, causing her arms to prickle.

She wandered through the main corridor, ducking into his room. Still perched on his chair, Percy's hoodie was freshly washed, but she could still smell him when she put it on.

Annabeth wished for the first time that she could fly like Jason.

She could be there already.

How far had they come already? They'd been sailing for nearly a day. Annabeth realised dimly that she hadn't eaten anything today. She wouldn't be able to work to her best ability. She turned to go into the kitchen, whip up a quick snack and go to bed.

A sudden impact to the side of the boat knocked her off balance, throwing her to the floor. She yelled out involuntarily. Annabeth scrambled to her feet, unsheathing her dagger, ready for anything.

Monsters?

A boat had crashed into theirs?

They'd run ashore?

She'd barely had enough time to regain her senses before a shadow fell in front of her, tall and thick. She whipped around, slashing.

Annabeth's eyes widened in horror as she cursed softly.

A large mass was unfurling by the boat, dark and writhing. Boats of demigods around them were stopping, some kind of tentacles wrapping around them, pulling them into a circle. A tentacle was creeping up on her, bigger than her body.

"Annabeth!" Piper cried behind her.

Annabeth glanced at her, for one second, to see if she was okay.

One second. That was all it took.

It shot towards her, wrapping around her middle like ductape. Annabeth's hands shot to it, trying to wrench it off of her, but it was too late.

The breath in her lungs vanished as she was yanked back, her legs trailing like some kind of puppet.

She was being pulled across, across, she saw Clarisse astride a tentacle, stabbing it in a last ditch effort, then she was going straight down-

She landed in the water with a splash, the tentacle unfurling as Jason appeared, his sword plunging into it. He was hovering above the water, his arm out.

"Annabeth!"

He grasped her wrist firmly, ready to lift her back. Annabeth held on. The freezing water was causing bumps to raise on her arms.

She saw Jason's face change, paling slightly, and craned her neck round.

Its head was emerging from the water, one massive red eye in the centre of its domed head, it's skin a dark grey. It opened its mouth and screeched, revealing rows upon rows of razor sharp fangs.

Something curled around her leg.

"Jaso-"

Like a yo yo snapping backwards, she was dragged down, her head going under. Jason's hand was ripped from her grasp. Bubbles streamed out of her mouth, her hair shooting up and fanning out.

Her eyes squeezed shut, she reached for her dagger. She grasped it and pulled up her leg, trying to get closer, but all her movements were so _slow_ in the water.

She reached out a hand, trying to grasp on to the tentacle, before it let go. She kicked off immediately, swimming as quick as she could to the surface.

She broke the top of the sea with a gasp, inhaling as much as she could. Jason surfaced beside her.

"You good?" He choked, spitting water out of his mouth.

Children of Zeus weren't always the best swimmers, something about the rivalry just stopped it. Annabeth remembered Thalia avoiding swimming a lot as well. She nodded.

"We're aiming for the eye!" Jason shouted over the din of shouts, explosions, the screeching of the kraken like monster.

They swam over, trying to clamber up onto the tentacles, to run forwards for the head like the others were doing. Clarisse had gone from swiping at sly tentacles to being sat on its head, lying on her front to stab at it.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a shark swimming over to them.

"Whoa!" Jason shouted, pointing his sword at it.

"No!" Annabeth said, grabbing his wrist.

A second later, a very wet Frank was being hauled up.

"Thanks." He spat water out his mouth with a grossed out expression. "That thing's _huge._ I got down right to the seabed and it's as if it's actually in the seabed. I can't see anything that looks like a chest, anywhere for its heart to be."

Jason cursed mildly, almost politely compared to what Annabeth could hear the Greeks shouting at it.

A series of bangs shattered over her shoulder, as a line of Roman ships fired in a row. Two missed but, eliciting a twisted scream, the rest connected. At least one ship was on fire, and a haze of smoke began to rise.

"Wh- Ah!"

They were all swept off as the thing writhed in pain, creating big waves.

Annabeth kept her chin pointing up, spluttering as another wave submerged her. In the smoke, she couldn't see anyone.

"Frank?" She cried. "Jaso-?"

Down under again, in the inky blackness of the water. She reached her arms up, being caught off guard had left her with very little oxygen.

Her hands met wood.

She panicked. What? Where was she? Oh no- Annabeth panicked as she realised she was under a boat. That's not good, not at all, possibly the worst thing that could happen, because now she was trapped. She needed to get out she needed to get out she needed to get out-

Annabeth pressed her hands against the bottom, trying to find an edge as she kicked her legs. She opened her eyes, to try and see anything, no matter how much it was like acid to her eyes, but it was all pitch black. Which ship was it?

Her lungs seared with pain, like someone was trying to rip them out. She curled her hands into fists and punched the boat uselessly, with the smallest of hopes that someone might hear it.

" _Percy_!" She screamed, but nothing but bubbles came out.

Annabeth felt her head get light, her arms giving up. No...

She kicked again, but didn't move an inch.

She! Had! To! _Breathe_!

The water burned as it entered her nose, like lava down her throat. Her head felt like it was about to explode as her body rejected it, heaving and bucking in the water.

She couldn't control her body as it _jerked around_ , pain like she'd never felt _tearing_ her apart from the inside. Her brain was _viciously_ _pounding_ against her skull, her blood _beating_ in her veins.

 _She was sinking..._

 _Everything was fading away..._

 _Her arms rose up, floating out in front of her..._

Then nothing.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Please don't yell at me.**

 **This isn't the end.**


	20. Percy XIII

**I GOT MY GCSEs RESULTS OH MY GOD! I got 2 A's in biology and chemistry! I knew nothing! Unfortunately now I've got the rest of them next year, but I don't think I could be more satisfied.**

 **Oh my literal God. FateOfChaos just gave me the nicest review I think I've ever had. Seriously, bro, I cried. I actually cried, it was 1am and I got that and... Wow. Amazing person.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 20

Percy XIII 

Percy helped Damasen stand, albeit shakily, and looked to Nyx.

"However," She began, looking almost apologetically at Damasen, "The Titan cannot come through. He cannot fit."

Percy stopped.

"What?" He said, partly confused and annoyed.

Damasen stepped backwards. "I'm too big, Percy. I'm three times your size."

Percy shook his head.

"You knew? You knew you couldn't come with me?" He asked in disbelief.

Damasen nodded.

"What happened to staying together?"

"There is another way across, but only for giants, or titans. This is the only way for you to get across. We can meet up on the other side somewhere, I'll be able to find you, just keep going." Damasen pressed.

Percy shook his head again, ready to argue further, but Nyx swept forwards, cutting him off.

"This is the only way. And it has to happen now. Go." She tossed that to Damasen, who nodded and turned.

"Wait!" Percy said.

Damasen stopped.

"Take Maia." Percy handed the reins out to him, and he accepted them quietly.

"I'll see you later." He promised before disappearing.

"Little harm will come to him." Nyx glanced at Percy. "He is a giant. And if he is rumoured to be with you, Godkiller, then perhaps they shall go out of his way to avoid him."

Percy scowled but had to concede the point. Damasen was a giant. And he had Maia. He'd be fine. He would.

"Where do I go?" He turned to Nyx.

She smiled.

"Through the doors and just keep going. Do not open your eyes, I am not sure if a mortal could take it."

Percy looked at the mansion again. Some kind of black smoke was coming out the gaps in the doors in whisps.

Nyx moved in front of him, making him look back at her. Her hand, elegant and covered in twinkling rings, rose to grasp his upper arm. Percy tensed as she didn't let go.

"This may hurt," She warned, "but it will protect you."

"Wha-"

Percy fell to his knees with a yell as a searing pain erupted across his arm, the skin seemingly trying to tear itself off. After a few seconds of Percy biting his lip in agony, she let go. He staggered backwards.

"W-what was that?" He breathed raggedly, gulping breaths in.

He turned his arm to see. A mark like a tattoo was there, a solid circle with two crescents on each side, facing outwards, burned black into his skin. Percy gripped the skin tightly to alleviate the pain, his eyes watering.

"What is it?" He asked, trying to calm his breathing.

"My blessing." Nyx said simply. "Very, very, few have ever received it. It only hurt because I had to go through that blessing of yours. My offspring shall recognise you. Most should avoid you. Children that aren't mine may back off on that alone."

Percy held his arm for a few seconds.

"You are welcome." She said, stressing the last word.

"Thanks." Percy said automatically. "Thank you, my lady." He reiterated, this time meaning it.

"Now, go." Nyx strode across to the doors, whirling around in front of them.

Percy, who had been following her, eyed her apprehensively.

"Now." She said, clicking her fingers.

The doors flew open in a whirlpool of darkness, an unearthly howling emerging. Percy scrunched his eyes instantly and outstretched his hands, fumbling his way through the doors.

"Oh, and watch out for the river at the end." Nyx's voice, despite the roaring in his ears, was calm and audible, as if she was right in front of him. "Closing the doors now."

Percy heard a bang behind him and steeled himself. Stepping forwards without knowing what he was walking into was disconcerting, but Percy shuffled as best he could. His senses were on overdrive. Sometimes he felt things brush against his fingertips, or a presence like there was someone an inch from his face, just waiting.

Percy was freaking terrified, but managed to keep his eyes firmly clenched shut.

He could feel the darkness, thick and like fog in the air. Sometimes there would be a scream behind him, so familiar but he couldn't put a finger on it. It took everything for him not to turn around, turn back, open his eyes and just run.

He walked for a long time, grinding his teeth together and forcing his legs to move.

In the distance ahead of him, he began to hear a throbbing sound, like his own heartbeat echoing back, amplified so powerfully the floor vibrated underfoot. The sound filled him with dread, so he figured it must be the right way to go. He stumbled quicker towards it.

As the beat got louder, he could smell smoke and heard the flickering of torches on either side. There could be light, he thought, but he was still in the mansion. It would probably melt his eyes.

Better to run and not look back.

The throbbing got louder still, sending vibrations straight up his spine. The air smelled fresher – or at least not quite as sulphurous. There was something else, too, closer than the deep pulsing … the feeling of flowing water.

Percy's heart raced. This was the river Nyx had told him about? Then the exit was close?

He began to run faster until the river was right in front of him, hurtling at huge speeds before him. Percy screwed up his nose. As far as he could tell, the opposite side was about twenty feet away.

And there was something wrong with the water. He listened carefully.

Within the roaring current, thousands of voices cried out – shrieking in agony, pleading for mercy.

Help! they wailed. The pain! Make it stop!

Percy had been in all the other rivers. That meant there was only one left, the ache-something. Pain. That was all he could guess about it. Because the things, people or souls or whatever they were, that were in it, did not seem to want to be in it.

Join us, a voice whispered. You are no better than we are.

Percy's head was instantly flooded with images of all the monsters he'd killed over the years, taking him by surprise.

That wasn't murder, he protested. I was defending people!

The river changed course through his mind – his mother being taken by Hades, Grover being kidnapped by the cyclops, Annabeth snatched to hold the sky up.

Bianca, dying in the collapse of the metal giant. He had promised to protect her. And he had failed.

Everyone who had died in the Battle of Manhattan... the crushing guilt of Luke.

You could have prevented it, the river told him. You're the weakest demigod. The stupidest. The most reckless.

Their blood is on your hands! the river wailed. There was another way! You weren't smart enough to figure it out!

"No..." Percy murmured. He'd had Gabe tell him that he was stupid every day for years _, that,_ he could ignore, _that_ , he could block out.

He needed to focus on the river.

Your friends are dead! the river cried. You abandoned them!

Percy dug his fingernails into his palms, shaking his head.

"That's not true." He whispered. "I saved Annabeth."

Or did you? the river cried.

"I know I did." He said, his voice as brittle as ice.

At what cost? the river screamed in the very depths of his mind, causing him to see what wasn't there.

He saw Apate, in her final moments, but from another's perspective.

He saw the goddess, cowering on the floor.

He saw a tall, unrecognisable figure towering menacingly before her, imposing, _scary_ , with eyes like ice, golden ichor splattered across their chest, thoroughly soaked in blood, a drenched sword in their hand, the other outstretched, playing with life and death in their very hands, smiling insanely as they _tortured_ an immortal.

Him.

Godkiller, the river hissed. You're supposed to be down here. You wanted to do it. You enjoyed it. Come in. Join us.

Percy felt himself drop to his knees. No. He had to... She had... He needed... It was too... He...

Pulling the last bit of strength he had out of who knows where, he split the river in half and shakily slid down.

The floor was smooth but every step was torture. The urge, the niggling bug in his mind, to let the river fall, let the screams embrace him, just let it all be over, it was too much for just one person to bear, surely? At some point he fell, moisture trickling down his cheeks as he choked, pushing himself forwards.

Eventually, his hands met the other side, finally, and he heaved himself up, crawling and coughing on all fours until he no longer could hear the voices.

Percy unstuck his eyes, bracing himself.

He let out a shuddery breath, feeling almost like he was about to curl up and sob.

He was out.

After the darkness of the mansion, even the dim red glow of Tartarus seemed blinding.

Before him stretched a valley big enough to hold the San Francisco Bay. The booming noise came from the entire landscape, as if thunder were echoing from beneath the ground. Under poisonous clouds, the rolling terrain glistened purple with dark red and blue scar lines.

It seemed like... It looked like...the heart of Tartarus.

The centre of the valley was covered with a fine black fuzz of peppery dots. They were so far away, it took him a moment to realize he was looking at an army – thousands, maybe tens of thousands of monsters, gathered around a central pinpoint of darkness. It was too far to see any details, but Percy didn't even have to guess what the pinpoint was. Even from the edge of the valley, he could feel its power tugging at his soul.

The Doors of Death.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **My dog is so fluffy and cute. A lot of you wanted the blessing of Nyx thing, so I was like hey why not, I didn't know what to write for this chapter anyway. I wanted to separate Percy and Damasen for a chapter or two as well, dunno why, just like BAMF!Percy on his own.**


	21. Percy XIV

**Yo yo amigos how's it hanging? It's September. Ya know what that means? It's neARLY HALLOWEEN!**

 **Ready to be spooky, yall?**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 21

Percy XIV 

Percy ran a grubby hand over his face, and breathed out as slowly as he could. He was tucked between two rocks, and had dragged another off onto the top, effectively creating a little shelter with only one opening, which Percy was watching as closely as a hawk.

He just needed to catch his breath.

He was breathing too shallowly, too quickly.

That house had done something to him; he felt like he'd had sand poured over him: his skin was gritty, like it was covering him, in his eyes and in his mouth.

Percy took one last deep sigh, leaning backwards on to the spiky rocks, wrapping his arm around his leg comfortingly. He refocused. He could feel the Phlegthon nearby, a solid presence, flowing lightly in his mind, and absently gripped it with his other hand. He broke the banks of it and made it trickle across the ground. The closer it got, the louder the thumping in Percy's head got. He hadn't had a nosebleed from using his powers in a while, and he hoped he wouldn't now. He saw the river come round a corner and clenched his fist, halting it instantly, before lifting it, a wobbling column waving precariously.

With a lot of maneuvering, he got it underneath a large boulder and lifted it up, and shakily carried it over. With a grunt, he dropped it in front of his hiding place, and let the river return.

Now in a smaller space, Percy relaxed a little. It was just him in here. There was enough light to see, his eyes were open and there was one way in, which was now a difficult way in for anything short of a titan.

Percy slowly closed his eyes. Though at first they flickered open every few seconds, at the smallest noise or sound, Percy dropped off to sleep soon, thanking Morpheus as he went.

...

Percy had smashed his hand into the rock before he even realised he was awake. He backed up with a jerk of his head, his leg twitching up to kick something. Percy was tense for a few seconds before sinking down a bit further.

He had dreamt about Annabeth. He couldn't remember what had actually happened in the dream, he just remembered Annabeth holding him, her breath on the back of his neck, her curly hair trailing over his shoulder, and shining gold in the sun...

Percy couldn't help the smile that forced its way out. It was impossible not to think of her and cheer up.

He crawled round until he was facing the boulder and pushed it. He felt ready to go back out now. He... He had needed that break. Just to cut it all out and remember what was important, what he was fighting for, who he was fighting for.

Percy elbowed his way through the small gap he had created and struggled out. Outside, a wandering hellhound nearby froze in its tracks. In the small passage, it looked like a tank. Percy sighed as it reared back, looking like it was about to pounce on him.

He turned his body to the right, exposing his left shoulder, remembering Nyx's words. Upon seeing the tattoo there, it tilted its head, reminding Percy of Mrs O'Leary.

Percy wasn't stupid; he could feel the power radiating off of his arm. He wasn't sure if it was reassuring or disturbing, but hey, the hellhound sure could feel it too.

Percy walked over to it as it lowered its head. He stopped, cautiously taking a few steps forward.

"Stand up?" He offered wearily.

It complied.

Percy huffed out a snort of disbelief. It had obeyed him. The blessing was amazing. The hellhound didn't seem too happy with it either, its red eyes boring holes through Percy.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck Percy; he walked up to it, and pointed in the opposite direction. In the direction of the doors.

"Go down there. Kill as many as you can." He told it with a smirk, looking it dead in the eye.

It stood, growling harshly at Percy, its lips pulled back in a snarl, revealing canines as long as Percy's forearms.

"Go on." Percy shrugged simply, going so far as to give it a push. It didn't do anything, of course, it was like trying to move a wall, but it got the message across.

Annabeth had inspired him with newfound confidence. And he had realised just how close he was to the end. His way out was literally in sight. He was going to make it. The house had affected him, no doubt, but he had made it through, he had made it out, and it was over. _He_ had done that. No one else. He was capable and he was strong. The river was wrong.

He didn't have his swords in his hands: he didn't even have his hands near them. He could feel the hellhound's pulse getting quicker; should it attack, he would feel when it came to a crescendo, and could have it on the ground in a second.

The hellhound took a step back before bounding off, paws thundering. Percy turned and scaled the higher ground next to him, peeking his head over the top to watch its process.

It was like a truck ramming through the edge of the crowd, puffs of gold trailing in its wake. Heads were turning towards the suicide mission Percy had forced it on, giving him time to slide down the side and duck behind a rock. The terrain from him to the doors was practically flat now, a couple boulders here and there. Good for cover.

He poked his head out again, just in time to see a cyclops swing at it, felling it with one blow. It had taken out about twentyish monsters. Not a single dent had been made. He ducked back. He had no idea what he was planning in his head, but as soon as a vague outline formed, he was ready.

He could wait for Damasen, then go round the edges, keep luring hellhounds out to be distractions, get to the doors and go from there. He didn't know if his tattoo would work on any other monsters. And he guessed there was always the risk that someone would see his other tattoo underneath, his SPQR one.

Percy dimly thought about his mother's reaction to all the new ink on his skin.

Or he could wait for Damasen, then get on Maia. Damasen was a giant, there would be some kind of respect from other monsters, they would move for him. If Percy laid on top of Maia, out of sight, they might get out without even causing a fuss.

Part of Percy wanted to fight though. He wanted to charge into the army, swords flashing and take out as many as he could. These things had killed so many people. The least he could do was stop them killing more; he didn't know if he could excuse himself for not killing them now if somehow they showed up later, in the middle of a fight and hurt someone he cared about. If one of them hurt Annabeth and he could have stopped it... He'd never forgive himself.

He sat there for a long time, planning out paths and tactics, how he could use everything available to help him. He just couldn't believe he was almost there.

He was almost home.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **I'm back in school and I'm so tired it's actually ridiculous. And I'm lazy so I had to do all my summer homework the night before.**

 **We keep in being asked what we want to be when we grow up. And I wanna go to uni and be a writer. But ya can't make a living outta that, so my current goal is to be a lecturer.**


	22. Nico I

**Ya boi here has back pain for days and wants to rip off her face. #relatable**

 **Guys guys I don't know if by the time I post this, we'll be over, but right now we're so close to 200 reviews! What the actual everlasting fuck. I saw it today and was just like jesus what even... just thanks so much, this will highkey influence my future career. Now I'm gonna go sleep, yeah!**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 22

Nico I

He felt like he'd been hit with a truck.

Time around him seemed to slow down; he saw Jason and Frank hovering over the water, Frank as a hawk. He saw Hazel hacking away at the monster, her hair flying around with vigour, Clarisse at her back, wrestling with a tentacle.

He barely heard Reyna, who was yelling from beside him, occasionally using her sword to easily fend off any attempted attacks.

Bright flashes to his side told him Leo was fire bombing the creature as much as he could, wherever there was a gap in demigods.

He didn't know where Piper was, but he knew where Annabeth was.

Or where she no longer was.

Whenever he was in battle, he always could feel some souls leaving the battlefield. But if he knew them, the impact was always that much larger. When Bianca had died, he had childishly thought he was having a heart attack. Went to the infirmary. Nothing was wrong with him. Until he was told.

This time, a hammer had hit him straight in the chest, shattering him. He fell to his knees, grabbing his chest. Hands were on his shoulders, not his, someone else's.

"-co, Nico, _Nico_!" Piper was shouting in his face, concerned and worried, holding onto him.

"...Annabeth." He whispered to her, as tears started to fall out of his eyes, he couldn't hold them back, he didn't know if he could or if he even wanted to because Annabeth was-

Besides him, a horrified Reyna had paused, eyes widening, before instantly diving off the side of the boat without hesitation. Piper's tone had become even more panicked.

"What? What do you mean? Nico! What do you _mean_ 'Annabeth'?" She yelled. "I'm Piper, not Annabeth!" She put on the end, probably in hope that's what he meant.

But Nico shook his head, slowly.

Piper's lip began to wobble as her eyes welled up. She shook his shoulders slightly.

"Nico! _What happened to Annabeth_!" She screamed, a sob trying to break through.

Nico heard victory cries on the other side of the boat. The sea thing was probably dead.

They didn't know yet.

They didn't know how much of a kick to the ribs their celebration was, how wrong it sounded and felt, because no one could be happy, no one anywhere, because Annabeth Chase had just-

Piper was shaking beside him, before she scrambled to her feet, leaning over the side.

"Hey!" She bellowed, her voice lifting every head. "Find Annabeth Chase!" She screamed, the charmspeak so heavy that Nico found himself standing up, before she pulled him back.

"Not you." She choked out. "Not you."

They stood as every single person dived into the red tinted water in sync, eyes glazed under Piper's total command, who stood with the stance of a queen, but the tears told a different story.

She had Nico's wrist in a tight grip, her other hand holding onto the rail to stop it from shaking.

For a few seconds, the water calmed, every demigod underwater, in search of Annabeth.

There were a few ripples now and then, mostly from the boats tapping against each other.

The hulk of the monster had vanished, the killing blow struck, reducing it to gold dust floating on the top.

Nico focused on nothing but his own breathing.

Annabeth.

She was-

Roars suddenly erupted below, heads bursting from the water, all looking in one direction.

The Praetor of New Rome emerged from the sea, her cloak and dark hair plastered against her, a smaller body clutched to her chest as she swum towards the rope ladder on the side.

Knees weak, Nico walked shakily over, both him and Piper helping Reyna up. Taking Annabeth from her. Jason landed next to them with a bang, stumbling and falling next to where Annabeth was laid on the deck.

Her blonde hair was dark from the water, a contrast to her pale skin, her lips a deathly blue. Her eyes were shut. Nico took her hand, clammy and cold, and held it to his chest.

Reyna had already leant over her, blowing air into her lungs, Jason thumping at her chest. They worked in time with each other, switching at various places. Annabeth's body kept jerking up and down.

"Annabeth, wake up!" Piper shouted at her, grabbing her other arm.

Nico could only imagine how much charmspeak had been forced into her voice.

But Annabeth didn't twitch. She had been gone for too long, taken in too much water. Nico knew her soul had already left her body. Thanatos would keep her from returning, like Gwen had.

Annabeth was dead.

"No..." Whispered Jason, starting to cry as he leant back, biting his lip to stop sobs escaping.

Reyna took a stiff step away, before barking orders at the confused soldiers to get back to their ships. One look at the hard expression on their praetor's face had them going back, no questions asked. Reyna turned away and placed a hand over her face, hiding her emotions.

Nico felt like he'd lost Bianca again. The same agony was clawing at him, the sheer denial. She couldn't be gone, she just couldn't.

And yet he knew she was.

Others had joined them. Frank and Hazel were crying into each others shoulders, Leo had curled up by a wall. Piper was just sobbing next to him, an unrelenting grip on Annabeth's arm.

She was dead.

0o0

Annabeth's corpse had been carried over to a table, a sheet thankfully draped over her. A cushion had been placed under her head.

They sat in chairs around her.

Nobody said anything.

At some point, Leo got up and left, and the ship started moving again. No one looked up when he went.

Jason's leg kept bouncing up and down; he stood up once, to say something, but eventually say back down.

Nico couldn't stop staring at the bump in the sheet. That was Annabeth. She was gone. Suddenly, their mission felt impossible. How could they ever do this without her? Why would they want to do this without her? It didn't feel real. Annabeth couldn't be dead. She just couldn't.

He kept thinking about Percy- he didn't know. Nico didn't want to be the one to tell him, their last words to each other had been declarations of love, for Hades' sake! Was this how Percy felt when he needed to tell him about Bianca?

Nico wished he had known before running off.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Check the reviews. Right now. Are we at 200? If not, theN COME ON, REVIEW! If we are, then yay, here's a glass of champagne!**

 **300 next!**

 **(I don't know if it'll go on that long whoops. Should I do a new Blood of Olympus when this one is done? I don't know how it would go with the Gods this time around. ?)**


	23. Percy XV

**Dearest readers,**

 **To put it simply:**

 **I do what I want.**

 **Nah but siriusly, thanks for your reviews. I didn't realise I was so evil. You know that textpost where it's like 'what do writers do when they kill off a character?', I can confirm that for me personally, I felt nothing and then chuckled at the screaming reviews. It was muy entertaining. Here ya go, loves, sorry it's so late, I'm really tired.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 23

Percy XV 

As far as Percy had worked out, only the hellhounds seemed to obey him. One dracaenae he had lured over had been about to give him away, before he had thrown it into a wall with jerk of his chin.

He had been sending his kamikaze hellhounds in every now and then, in an attempt to wipe a pathway through, but it was like trying to split water: they just moved into the gaps.

And he was no Moses.

Percy summoned another over, flashing his shoulder from behind the rock provocatively to tempt one that he had been watching for a while. He saw a few heads (some on only one body) turn, and ducked back quickly, back out of view. The aura he projected was more powerful than he had thought; they seemed to sense his presence before he could kill them.

But they also seemed to fear him, and try to avoid him when he got near, which was always good.

The hellhound dutifully marched forwards, round the corner, before stopping in front of him. Percy beckoned it closer. The low growl it emitted would have scared the pants off of Percy before, but now he just clicked his fingers impatiently at it.

"C'mon." He mouthed. "Stop sulking."

The hellhound came further behind the rock, and with a quick hop, Percy clambered on to its back. It bucked a little as he flattened himself against it, trying to hide. Hunks of thick black fur in each hand, Percy dug in a little with his elbows.

"Go towards the doors." He muttered. "Do not give me away, or draw attention."

The hellhound began to plod forwards reluctantly, and they were moving. Percy lifted his neck slightly to have a look, and just caught sight of them entering the crowd before he slammed his head back down, as to avoid being seen. The hellhounds body rocked from side to side, and a dim thought in the back of Percy's mind was that it would be a good place to sleep.

It was when he was halfway through the crowd when Percy began to rethink what he had just planned. Upon second thought, it was one of the stupidest plans he'd ever concocted. What if he messed up? Threw his chances of getting out away?

Worried, Percy lifted his head. The padding of the hellhound was slow, but it's size more than made up for it: they were almost at the other side of the herd of monsters. He could see ahead, a massive shape by the doors.

Percy groaned as quietly as he could.

A Titan.

It looked like Krios, guarding the familiar looking doors.

Framed in Stygian iron, the magical portal was a set of elevator doors – two panels of silver and black etched with art deco designs. Except for the fact that the colours were inverted, they looked exactly like the elevators in the Empire State Building, the entrance to Olympus.

Seeing them, Percy felt so homesick he couldn't breathe. He didn't just miss Mount Olympus. He missed everything he'd left behind: New York City, Camp Half-Blood, his mom and stepdad. His friends.

Annabeth.

His eyes stung, but he blinked them as much as he could, ignoring it.

The Doors of Death seemed like a personal insult, designed to remind him of everything he couldn't have.

As he got over his initial shock, he noticed other details: the frost spreading from the base of the Doors, the purplish glow in the air around them and the chains that held them fast.

Cords of black iron ran down either side of the frame, like rigging lines on a suspension bridge. They were tethered to hooks embedded in the fleshy ground. Krios was stood in the middle of them, letting small groups go past.

As Percy watched, the entire frame shuddered. Black lightning flashed into the sky. The chains shook, and Krios planted his feet on one of the hooks to keep it secure. The Doors slid open, revealing the gilded interior of an elevator car.

A dozen Cyclopes rushed forward, waving little red tickets and shouting excitedly. They shouldn't have been able to fit inside those human-sized doors, but as the Cyclopes got close their bodies distorted and shrank, the Doors of Death sucking them inside.

The Titan Krios jabbed his thumb against the UP button on the elevator's right side, his dark helmet shifting on his head. The Doors slid closed.

The frame shuddered again. Dark lightning faded.

Percy furrowed his brow. Krios was still holding down the button. If someone had to hold it in order for it to go up... Percy felt his stomach drop out of his body.

Someone would need to hold that button for him.

If his life didn't depend on it, Percy knew he would have leaned over the hellhound's back and been sick.

He- Percy didn't even get to finish his thought before something went wrong.

Over the edge of the mountain he had come over, a head popped up. Then another. Maia and Damasen had arrived, both looking a little weary, but Damasen was scanning the crowd for him with a steadily worried expression.

Percy winced as Maia roared. Despite Damasen's quick reflexes to grab her mouth to silence her, heads still turned. A few began to wander over menacingly. Percy cursed and slowly began to reach for his sword.

"The Giant Traitor!" A cyclops bellowed to his left, the unexpected volume making Percy jump.

"Uh-" Percy saw Damasen cringe before poking his head out higher, "-No?" Damasen trotted Maia out from the cliff, standing as tall as he could.

Percy furrowed his brow from where he was lying on the hellhound, hands braced against its back should he need to escape quickly. What was Damasen doing?

The cyclops, which was a good 5 and a half ft taller than Percy (the equivalent of Annabeth sitting on his shoulders like some kind of deranged centipede), may have been shorter than Damasen, but the bloodthirst in his eyes had a crowd of monsters behind him, like a gang. He seemed to tower over the rest.

"No. You're wrong. I'm not a traitor." Damasen said calmly.

"You have been helping the scum of the sea, that godkiller Jackson!" The cyclops bellowed.

The monsters raised their weapons up at Damasen and roared, a good half of the crowd now turned away from the doors to glare at the peaceful giant.

Percy gripped a handful of the hellhound's fur.

"That was all a trick to lead him to his death!" Damasen shouted.

The cyclops didn't listen, suddenly seizing Damasen and yanking him forwards, the giant stumbling to his knees as they crowded round him, jeering.

"Stay _down_!" Damasen shouted, as he must have caught Percy trying to sit up, ready to help.

"What did you say?" The cyclops hissed, digging its long sword into Damasen's neck.

Behind him, a whole group of large monsters, more cyclops too, had Maia pinned to the floor, multiple large hands pushing her head cruelly to the floor.

Percy narrowed his eyes, but followed Damasen's advice. He must have a plan.

"I said _stand_ down." Damasen scowled. "I am here under orders from higher powers. The lady Nyx gave me a plan herself, I was chosen above _all of my kin,_ above Polybotes, Alcyoneus, Enceladus Porphyrion, Otis and Ephialtes, above Orion, to do this mission! It is my duty to deliver the demigod to his doom- and I have! The demigod is dead! He was torn apart, a message to the gods! I have seen the way of my errors, that peace is not the answer, and that the gods have been in charge for too long! Now is _our_ time!"

Percy watched as the monsters around him cheered, amazed at Damasen's speech, and grinned as he saw most of them back away from the giant.

The cyclops looked at Damasen.

"You've changed?" He asked.

"I have." Damasen stated, the relief in his voice barely controlled. "From now, I swear to serve those who _deserve_ it!"

Percy smiled, it was going to be okay. The cyclops was even pulling his sword blade away from Damasen's neck, the giant breathing out a small grateful huff, Maia being let go behind them.

The blade swung back.

"Liar." The cyclops hissed through a puff of gold.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Whoops, my finger slipped.**

 **This'll be wrapping up kinda soon? 10 more chappies? Idk. For anyone waiting on my other fics, I'll update soon, I promise. After this nap.**

 **My doggo is so fluffy and cuddly and kissy, I actually love her so much.**


	24. Percy XVI

**Ah I actually didn't mean to kill off Damasen, I realise that now, so I'm adjusting this chapter plan, whoops.**

 **Also! I've been worrying about how to do this one thing that's gonna happen, and I just realised how I'm gonna do it yee ha bois!**

 **0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 24

Percy XVI

"NO!"

It was like an atom bomb had gone off.

Hundreds of monsters ten, twenty, thirty meters away from him were vanquished instantly, a circle of gold dust exploding into the air, with vibrations that rocked the floor itself and knocked far away monsters over. The monsters left over were either fleeing for their lives, or hovering to watch.

Percy landed on his feet, the hellhound left in specks around his face as he stared at the space Damasen had just occupied.

Damasen was gone.

He was alone again.

A thick layer of red had crashed over his vision as he raised an outstretched hand; Percy had never seen a cyclops look so terrified in his life.

It twisted to the ground with a howl, echoed by several hellhounds he could see start to go wild and savaging the ones around them.

"Please!" The cyclops begged, hands clawing at the ground as it writhed in the middle of the chaos.

Percy walked towards it, unopposed, unchallenged. None of the remaining monsters could come near him, cross the strange invisible wall that seemed to have appeared. Whenever a few stupid ones tried to run at him, they exploded at a certain point, like Percy had created a circular barrier they couldn't cross.

The cyclops was still begging for mercy on the ground.

"Please, _please_ -!"

Percy cut it off with a clench of his fist, a raging anger pulsing through his veins at the loss of his friend. It disintegrated before his eyes, the agonised expression collapsing into dust.

Percy turned around, a tear falling out of his blazing eyes, and threw a section of monsters back with a jerk of his chin.

"Go!" He bellowed. "Go on, get out of here!"

A burning on his arm made him wince as he glanced down, monsters sprinting away in his peripheral vision. His Nyx tattoo was smoking, black mist seeping out of it.

Suddenly, with a spreading feeling of going so fast that it felt like his face was peeling off, Percy staggered.

About fifty meters away from where he was just stood.

He turned to the side and threw up; now he knew for a fact that drakon steaks were just as chewy and spicy going up as they were going down.

Nyx had mentioned some extra stuff, but he thought it was just the control of hellhounds, he didn't expect to be able to _shadow travel._ It took quite a bit out of him, a wave of dizziness briefly flooding him. Now that he was out of the fight (though did anyone actually fight back?), the Achilles blessing demanded that he rest, as hard as he tried to ignore it.

He had reappeared right in front of the doors. It took him a few tired blinks to realise just how many monsters had been killed. There were a few crowds skulking about behind a few rocks, but the intimidating army? Gone. Just piles upon piles of gold dust.

Krios, the titan who had been guarding the doors was nowhere to be seen- whether Percy had killed him, or he had fled, he didn't know. But now the doors were empty. And Annabeth was right on the other side, his mum, his friends. He could almost see them there, waiting and smiling, underneath the bright sun...

Movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He tensed, but quickly relaxed.

It was Maia.

She had a few scratches across her side, gold dust sprinkled across her back, but she was looking at Percy with a strong sense of sadness.

Percy let her nuzzle into his arm, patting her on the head softly.

"He's gone." Percy told her quietly.

They stood that way for a while. The gap in their trio was broad, like an empty eye socket, the loss of Damasen changing the tone of everything. It was no longer a bloody quest to get to the doors, it was just 'getting out, getting away and never looking back'.

Percy didn't realise how much Damasen had meant to him. They had plans for the future; Damasen was going to do great things. A real idol for the kids at Camp. He was smart, he was kind and he could kick ass if he needed to. His _friend_.

He had reminded him of Beckendorf.

Percy sniffed and eased himself out from under Maia, before unsheathing his sword. He raised it high above his head, muscles straining with the fatigue that had been slowly collecting in him, and with a yell, brought it down, slashing through one of the chains with a massive clang. They split aside like recoiling snakes. Percy kicked them aside.

Next to him, Maia had reared back, before snapping her head down, and tearing through the chain with her long teeth.

The doors crackled with electricity, and the edges began to flicker.

"Good girl." Percy murmured.

His tattoo began to smoke again as he raised his voice.

"Oi! Any hellhounds?" He shouted, his voice cracking at the end with exhaustion.

One padded out, its head down submissively. Percy waited until it was right in front of him before speaking.

"You," he began, looking it dead in the eye, "are going to hold that button there. You are going to hold it until we get out the other side. If-"

Percy lifted its jaw with his hand and squeezed. The hellhound shuffled and blinked a lot in his tight grip.

"-If we do not get out, if you let go, I assure you that I will come back, and I won't kill you, but I can promise you'll want death." He finished, letting it go.

It whined and stepped back, staying low to the ground, avoiding his glare.

Percy ignored it. He didn't bother praying to anyone that it would work- it was up to him, and him alone. Before, he'd been desperately thinking in his head how to get him, Damasen and Maia into that elevator without anyone staying behind, and it had taken a while, but the idea came to him eventually.

It would still work with two.

Percy banged the button with his hand, and the doors slid open seamlessly. He ushered Maia in, before turning to the hellhound.

"Hold that button until we get out at the top." He ordered. "Do not let go. Or I'll come back, and find you. _Understand_?"

The hellhound whined and lifted its paw.

Percy stepped back into the lift quickly, pressed against Maia.

"Hold it." He said again, fear, hope, grief, all churning his stomach into one big mess of panic. "Hold it."

The hellhound sat down by the doors, and lifted a black shaggy paw to the button, and pushed down.

With a ding, the doors began to shut, eclipsing the blood red clouds of Tartarus that Percy never wanted to see again.

Percy closed his eyes.

The doors shut.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Have I left it for so long that I've lost my reviewers? Shit. I didn't mean to, school is just like a punch in the gut everyday, we have so many revision lessons and ugghhhh... Stay with me, lads, you've gotta at least stay for Percy's death... Mwahahaha I'm kidding (oR aM i ?¿?).**

 **Can't frigging wait for Halloween. Frigging. Wow did I just type that. I usually try not to swear on here to keep it in character (although I've been swearing a lot more in Deadly Allies), but I guess it just slips through sometimes.**


	25. Piper I

**Oh my lord, the pressure on me. Yall expect Percy to do all these things when he finds out, and that's absolutely cool, don't stop, you give me ideas, but I have no idea how to do it now. Eek! It's cool. I'm good. I'll think of something. Hopefully.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 25

Piper I

Every boat was silent as they glided over the now pitch black waters.

The loss of someone so important right in front of them had impacted both camps, many were just sat down blankly on their ships.

The crew of the Argo II certainly were.

They were all in the same room they had been in hours ago, none of them speaking, apart from Leo's short announcement that they were a few miles off the shore. Occasionally, someone's stomach would rumble, but no one would make a move to get food.

Piper rested her chin in her hand heavily and closed her eyes; the bags underneath them were so big, she could feel them, even if she couldn't see them (a perk of being a kid of Aphrodite). She glanced up at the rest of the room.

Frank, Hazel and Nico were sat along a wall, Hazel tightly gripping the hands of both her boyfriend and her brother. Nico's eyes were closed.

Jason had an arm around her waist and his other was wrapped around Leo's smaller shoulders, pulling both of them into the heap they were in on the floor.

None of them wanted to let go of each other, like if they weren't within contact, they would be lost.

Piper watched Reyna for a few minutes.

The Roman Praetor was sat stiffly in her chair, next to the table with the sheet laid over Annabeth's...body.

Piper didn't know if she could come to terms with it, ever. It just seemed impossible. This was Annabeth, she couldn't die, she was too smart, too young, too important to too many people.

"Nico-" Leo suddenly started in a broken tone, but he was cut off by the child of Hades shaking his head, not even bothering to open his eyes.

"No."

"But-?"

"No!"

"Not ev-?" Leo asked hopefully, eyes wet.

"No! There's nothing I can do!" Nico said forcefully.

Piper felt Jason lay a hand on Leo's chest to stop him asking more.

Piper couldn't take it anymore. She wiggled out from underneath Jason, making him look up in surprise, and she walked slowly over to the table.

"Piper..." Reyna said quietly, but Piper ignored her.

She reached out with both hands, and peeled back the sheet.

Annabeth's hair, once golden and bleached further by the sun, looked thin and lank, the colour of straw, her skin the texture of old paper. Piper felt bile rising in her throat at the shade of blue her lips were. She could only imagine the washed out grey of her eyes.

She dropped the sheet as if it had burned her, backing away.

Tears filled her eyes.

"She can't die." Piper whispered. "We need her too much."

Reyna tucked the sheet around Annabeth's shoulders, as if she was merely asleep before answering.

"She's still here with us, Piper. You may not realise it now, but we can and need to go on. She would want us to keep fighting." She said calmly.

But Piper was shaking her head, this wasn't what she wanted to hear, they couldn't do this without her.

"No, we need her, we can't just-"

A crash from above had them all glancing upwards, instead of watching Piper panic.

"Not now!" Piper yelled at the ceiling, another monster attack was the last thing they needed.

"Well. Never heard that before." A voice responded from the stairs.

It was Apollo, leaning against the bannister. For such a radiant God, Piper had never seen him look so muted.

Piper heard Nico groan into Hazel's shoulder, muttering something Piper guessed to be a swearword, judging by Frank's raised eyebrows.

"Lord Apollo." Reyna greeted mechanically.

"Oh there's more of us, but after the- uh- welcome message, they decided that it'd better be me coming down first."

Apollo moved aside, twirling a nearby chair around to sit down in, as most of the major gods swarmed in.

No one except Reyna bothered to bow, or even greet them. Piper even saw Leo scowl at a few of them.

"We would like to thank you for retrieving my Parthenon," Athena began once all the Gods were seated on chairs, Zeus and Hera chatting quietly, the demigods still scattered on the floors apathetically. "Without it, we would still be torn between identities. Thank you." She finished stiffly.

"Annabeth is dead." Piper said bluntly, looking directly into Athena's oh so familiar eyes.

Athena shuffled primly.

"I am aware. We had only recovered seconds before I felt her leave this plane."

She looked almost sad.

"You don't even care, you-" Piper growled.

Jason circled her with his arms, muttering in her ear quietly.

Poseidon rubbed his hand over his head, peering round a corner.

"Where's Percy?" He asked.

No one spoke for a beat. Piper felt the corner of her lip curl at the sight of Poseidon's face growing more worried.

"He's not here. See, while we were recovering that oh so precious Parthenon, the floor collapsed. Annabeth almost fell over the edge. Percy saved her, but he fell off the edge instead of her."

Poseidon's face was very worried now.

"Edge of where?" He demanded in a panicked tone.

Piper made sure to wait at least three seconds before answering.

"Tartarus."

Poseidon, and all the other Gods in the room froze. Zeus and Hera stopped talking. Apollo looked horrified.

"...what?" Poseidon breathed.

"Yeah he's been down there for quite a while." Piper continued, a sick feeling in her stomach as she talked, sick that she was talking so casually about Percy in hell just to spite his father.

"Oh- Gods- my- what-" Poseidon spluttered. "How?"

"He's alive, if that's what you're asking. A few monsters we found were helpful enough to update us on his progress. He's on his way to the Doors of Death, we're meeting him on the other side."

"He's alive? He's okay?" Poseidon had a look of utter relief on his face.

"Well his arm was broken when he went down, he left his sword up here, and he doesn't know that the love of his life is dead, but other than that-"

"Piper." Jason mumbled in her ear. "Stop."

Piper broke eye contact with the tearful sea God, and regret smeared across her face as she saw Hazel crying into Frank's shoulder.

"If- if we knew-" Poseidon muttered.

"You still wouldn't have helped us." Piper whispered, before going back to sit next to Leo, who linked arms with her comfortingly.

Jason opened his mouth as if to say something, but ended up shaking his head and joining them.

Aphrodite was sobbing into Hermes' shoulder; Piper looked at her mother in disgust.

They didn't get to cry. They didn't know her. They didn't- _don't_ know Percy.

And they never would.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **My friends asked me to write descriptions of them, and one of them is shook because I described her jaw as angular. The one I have a crush on refuses to acknowledge that she was described as pretty. Dagnabbit.**

 **I wish I could write more- I've got Halloween break coming up, maybe I could try to write more?**

 **What do you think of this so far? What do you like the** **most/least?**


	26. Nico II

**Hey yall, I was gonna do this normally, but then I realised how far away the remaining 7 are from the doors, so for now, I'm reversing the 1:2 ratio, we're gonna have one more other chapter, then back to Percy for one chapter. I love the focus on Percy, he's my fave character, but there just isn't enough time.**

 **Are we at 300 reviews yet? If we are, I'm dead. I'm so shook, thank you so much guys.**

 **Dedication to DragonLover1551. Bro, you give the best reviews, ta.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 26

Nico II

The gods were an _extremely_ unwelcome presence.

By the time land finally appeared in the distance – a hilly island carpeted with low stone building- Nico was so close to throwing his chair at them, he could feel his pulse in his head. He snuck out to the hull to watch the land come closer.

"Can't take them either?" A voice behind him whispered.

Piper leaned next to him. In her green tank top, her beige shorts and her hiking boots, she looked like she was ready to climb a mountain – and then fight an army at the top. Her dagger was strapped to her belt, her cornucopia slung over one shoulder.

"Yeah." Nico nodded.

Piper bit her lip.

"Do you think I went too far?" She asked him quietly.

Nico paused. Piper had been rude and blunt, spitting out harsh reminders of the horrible things that had befallen their friends, but it had been necessary. The Gods needed to get their heads in gear and realise that their kids weren't pawns, and actually matter. Nico didn't know if he could control himself around Zeus. He was the reason his mother was dead, the reason he and his sister had been trapped in time for near on a century. Maybe if they'd been allowed to carry on in their own time, Bianca wouldn't have-

But if he hadn't escaped in time, then he wouldn't have his friends. What was left of them. And he needed to help them, protect them, stop the gods from ignoring them. Which was what Piper had been saying.

If anything, Annabeth and Percy would definitely approve of what she'd said.

Nico shook his head.

"They need to hear it."

Nico frowned across the water. They were still half a mile from the island.

"Can we speed this up?" He asked, impatient.

"I'll go ask Leo." Piper said, hesitantly touching him on the arm.

Nico patted her hand, not exactly comfortable, but he appreciated her attempt at reassurance.

He listened to her leave before turning back. Sure enough, after a few minutes, there was a dramatic shift in speed, a jolt that made Nico hold on to avoid being lurched into the churning sea below.

The closer they got to Greece, the more dread settled in his chest, but also hope. They lost Annabeth. But hopefully, they could get Percy back. They needed him, everyone still felt a little lost without him.

"Dionysus." Nico whispered, an idea hitting him. " _Dionysus_."

"You know I'm just below deck, next time, you walk to get me. Transporting ourselves to this blasted ship took enough out of us in the first place, we're running on the bare minimum of energy." Dionysus warned from behind him.

Nico turned round.

"You helped me when I was rescued from Tartarus."

It wasn't a question.

His nightmares, hallucinations, anxiety; they weren't things to go away _that_ quickly, he wasn't the type of person who could suddenly be good at relaxation methods without a little outside help.

"Bacchus and myself are quite similar. We had just recovered, we found someone at quite their mental limit calling out-" Dionysus said slowly.

"I didn't-" Nico protested.

"Whether you meant to or not, whether we meant to or not, we heard it, we eased it, with the very little power we had left. You're _welcome_." said Dionysus, emphasising his last sentence.

"Thanks." Nico said, rather stiffly, before dropping his voice.

"There's also something-"

"You want me to help Perry Johnson if he gets out." Dionysus drawled, cutting him off.

Nico didn't ask him how he knew.

"I want you to help Percy, yes. He's been in that pit of hell longer than anyone else has, he's gone where no Olympian has ever gone, he went down there injured and unarmed and- and he still doesn't know about Annabeth. He will need your help."

Nico didn't like asking for help. But this was Percy. He knew that Percy was strong, but this was something else, and he wanted Percy back, exactly as he was before. He knew it wouldn't happen but he'd like to come close.

"I'll see what I can do. Just because Aphrodite's kid started bossing orders to the others, doesn't mean that you can do the same to me. Watch yourself."

Nico bit back a response and looked away. When he glanced back, Dionysus was gone.

After a while, others joined him, until their ship ran aground. Around them, other boats hit the shore.

Nico stayed sat until everyone was ready to go, his legs dangling off the side in a mockery of childhood innocence. Only when everyone was gathered did he slide down.

It was odd to see Zeus in a full 3 piece suit in the baking heat of the island. All the gods, except Apollo seemed relatively uncomfortable out in the open.

Artemis had broken out her silver shorts, glaring at anyone who looked at her.

"I should be with my hunters." She stated, annoyed.

Zeus waved her off.

"I ordered all of you here for strength." He began.

Suddenly, Nico flinched, and saw his sister do the same.

Hazel gasped. ''Guys …''

She pointed to the northeast horizon. At first, Nico saw nothing but the sea. Then a streak of darkness shot into the air like black lightning – as if pure night had torn through the daytime.

"I don't see anything." Ares grumbled.

"Me neither." Piper said.

Nico scanned his friends' faces. Most of them just looked confused.

"That can't be …" He muttered. "Greece is still hundreds of miles away."

The darkness flashed again, momentarily leaching the colour from the horizon.

"You think it's Epirus?" Jason asked him.

Nico's whole skeleton tingled, like he got hit by a thousand volts. He knew why he could see the dark flashes from this distance.

Nico nodded to the others. "The House of Hades is open for business."

A few seconds later, a rumbling sound washed over them like distant artillery.

"It's begun." Hazel said.

"What has?" Leo asked.

When the next flash happened, Hazel's gold eyes darkened like foil in fire. "Gaia's final push," she said. "The Doors of Death are working overtime. Her forces are entering the mortal world en masse."

"We'll never make it," Nico said. "By the time we arrive, there'll be too many monsters to fight."

Nico saw Jason set his jaw. "We'll defeat them. The gods are with us, _literally._ And we'll make it there fast."

Nico saw Reyna turn away, beginning to bark instructions at all the other kids gathered at the shore, while still listening in.

"We won't make it on foot." Nico said. "And the Gods can't transport us there, they're too tired." He added, trying to keep the mocking tone out his voice.

He could still see Athena narrowing her eyes.

Leo looked at him.

"You could shadow travel?" He suggested.

Nico had been thinking that for a while.

"I could only take a few with me. Maybe if-"

"We might be able to transport all of us." Apollo cut in. "I mean, yeah, we're shattered, but if we pool our powers, and I mean, all of us, there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to."

"We would be too tired by the time we got there to fight." Athena pointed out, so, so similarly to Annabeth that Nico felt his stomach turn.

"Then we arrive close to it, but not there. The kids go in, kill them all, see if Jackson made it, personally I hope he didn't, cut the chains then _bam_! Sorted. What's dead stays dead." Ares said impatiently.

Frank stared at his father angrily.

"What do you mean-" He began.

"Guys, there's _no time_. It's a good plan, let's try it." Piper said quickly.

Aphrodite smiled at her daughter, who completely ignored her.

The gods were not doing so good with their kids, Nico thought. Piper's speech must have really impacted them.

"You will get there early, but the rest of us are going to take the boats, put them on full speed." Reyna said, rejoining them.

"Hopefully you'll catch us in time." Jason said.

"At the speeds we're planning on going at, we may even beat you there." Reyna said, indicating for Apollo to continue speaking, before turning back to the legions of demigods.

Apollo put his hand out, which began to glow softly. They stood in a strange circle around him. His sister placed her hand on top of his, followed by Athena, Piper, Jason, Zeus, and so on.

Nico put his hand on Leo's, as Poseidon put his hand on top. It was weird, all the power radiating off the pile of hands, like putting your hand into a warm bath that had one of those strange bath bombs that Percy liked in it; it was hot, but fizzing with a cold energy at the same time.

"Kids, we're just going to borrow a teeny bit of your power for this." Apollo said, a bead of sweat forming on his upper lip.

Nico winced. It was like someone was pulling a massive splinter out of his arm. It didn't hurt, but it felt unnatural, as it traveled down his forearm. He briefly saw his veins turn gold before-

They landed with a thump on some grass, the gods groaning.

A few hundred metres away, at the top of the nearest hill, stood a cluster of ruins. They didn't look like much – just some crumbling walls encircling the limestone shells of a few buildings – but, from somewhere within the ruins, tendrils of black ether curled into the sky, like a smoky squid peeking from its cave. As Nico watched, a bolt of dark energy ripped through the air, rocking the ground and sending a cold shockwave across the landscape.

"The Necromanteion." He said. "The House of Hades."

Despite the midday heat and the raging storm of death energy, a group of tourists was climbing over the ruins. Fortunately there weren't many and they didn't give the demigods a second look.

After everything, Nico had stopped caring about getting noticed. If they could fly their warship into the Roman Colosseum with ballistae blazing and not even cause a traffic slowdown, he figured they could get away with anything.

He led the way. They left the gods behind without a single thought. At the top of the hill, they climbed over an old retaining wall and down into an excavated trench. Finally they arrived at a stone doorway leading straight into the side of the hill. The death storm seemed to originate right above their heads. Looking up at the swirling tentacles of darkness, Nico felt like he was trapped at the bottom of a flushing toilet bowl. That really didn't calm his nerves.

Nico faced the group. "From here, it gets tough."

"Great." Leo said, but there was no humour in it. "Let's just get Percy, kick ass and leave."

"Just stick close together, and maybe we can avoid getting lost or going insane." Nico said.

On that happy note, Nico led them underground.

The tunnel spiralled gently downwards, the ceiling supported by white stone arches that reminded him of a whale's rib cage.

As they walked, Hazel ran her hands along the masonry. "This wasn't part of a temple." she whispered. "This was … the basement for a manor house, built in later Greek times."

"A manor house?" Frank asked. "Please don't tell me we're in the wrong place."

"The House of Hades is below us," Nico assured him. "But Hazel's right, these upper levels are much newer. When the archaeologists first excavated this site, they thought they'd found the Necromanteion. Then they realized the ruins were too recent, so they decided it was the wrong spot. They were right the first time. They just didn't dig deep enough."

Ironic, really.

They turned a corner and stopped. In front of them, the tunnel ended in a huge block of stone.

"A cave-in?" Jason asked.

"Probably." Nico said. "This place is being hit with lots of tremors from the doors. Hazel, would you do the honours?"

Hazel stepped forward. She placed her hand on the rock, and the entire boulder crumbled to dust.

The tunnel shuddered. Cracks spread across the ceiling. For a moment, Nico imagined they'd all be crushed under tons of earth – a disappointing way to die, really, after all they'd been through. Then the rumbling stopped. The dust settled.

A set of stairs curved deeper into the earth, the barrelled ceiling held up by more repeating arches, closer together and carved from polished black stone. Nico could see that the descending arches were making the others (not Hazel) dizzy, like looking into an endlessly reflecting mirror, and they stumbled here and there on the stairs.

"Careful." Nico whispered. "Hazel, can you feel that?"

His sister paused for a second on the stairs, before she nodded reluctantly.

"What is it?" Piper hissed.

"There's a lot of monsters at the end of this tunnel." Hazel whispered.

Nico could feel it, a raw mass of pulsating power. They were quite a way away from them, they still had some corners and obstacles to take on, but eventually they would reach them, and the fight would begin.

"Come on." Nico said, and led them all into the pitch blackness once more.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Dear guest reviewer Pasad: ;)**

 **Also y'all, I've decided to merge House of Hades and Blood of Olympus. I might add in a little 'part 2' chapter, just those words really big, but I don't know how long BoO will be now the gods are back. I really didn't plan this.**


	27. Percy XVII

**Hey guys, I'm trying to write as much as possible before my mock exams start, please review as much as you can.**

 **No but for realsies, what do you want to happen in this story? I mean like requests for monsters, scenes, any viewpoints you'd like?**

 **High five to my fave reviewer, you know exactly who you are bro!**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 27

Percy XVII

Something went wrong almost immediately.

The doors were trying to open again.

Percy quickly shoved his entire body against the left door, swearing furiously, pressing it towards the centre, arms outstretched to try and hold the other door in place. Maia crowed in confusion, smacking her tail into the side of the elevator.

"Maia! Just- nngh- help?"

The drakon batted the door with her head before looking away.

"Thanks!" Percy spat out in frustration.

There were no handles, or anything else to hold on to. As the elevator car ascended, the Doors shook and tried to open, threatening to spill them into whatever was between life and death.

Percy's shoulders ached. The elevator's easy-listening music didn't help. If all monsters had to hear that song about liking piña coladas and getting caught in the rain, no wonder they were in the mood for carnage when they reached the mortal world; Percy certainly was.

The panels had started to slide apart, letting in a whiff of … ozone? Sulphur?

His fingers were slipping into the gap, and he watched in horror as the tips of his fingers turned black, skin starting to flake away. Panicking, Percy pushed on his side furiously and the crack closed. His hands stopped disintegrating, fingers going back to their normal shape, but his fingertips remained a charred black. His eyes blazed with anger.

"I will kill Gaia." he muttered, banging his hand on the metal, leaving a dent, "I will tear her apart with my bare hands."

After an unknown amount of time, Percy felt a click beneath his struggling hands. He breathed out a shaky breath before slowly easing his hands off the door.

It stayed shut.

Percy collapsed to the floor, legs sprawling. He was so tired. Fatigue was literally dragging his eyelids down, arms twitching sporadically, his head tilted back with almost no support.

"We're almost there." Percy muttered.

A weight settled onto his ragged knees: Percy had enough energy left to crack open one eye. Maia had curled up in the expanded space and was rested on him, her green frilled collar tucked over his knees, watching him with green eyes not unlike his own.

She was like his great-aunt or something if he got technical, but his mind could barely function, he was too swamped.

"We're so close, Maia..." Percy mumbled, eyes closed, almost deliriously. "We'll get out, and... they'll hug us... and I'll make sure they know about you... You'll be safe... You can come back to camp... You can come home... My cabin's big enough for an extra person... Well, Annabeth will be in there too but it'll work... You'll love her... Just like I do... And my mum, you gotta meet her too... Make you some blue steaks or something...we just gotta hold on..."

Percy passed out.

When he came to, they were still in the elevator, the shaking and grinding metal grating against his ears.

"Oh Gods, come on." Percy sighed impatiently.

His stomach rumbled loudly, bubbling deep within him; he hadn't eaten in several days- he was too busy to eat, and the curse kept him going.

He leaned forwards and grabbed the drakon skin bag, pulling out one of the two remaining steaks, avoiding eye contact with Maia. They were a tinted a sickly black-green, and poorly cooked, almost raw, but Percy bit into it ravenously, sinking his teeth in as if it was ambrosia. It didn't taste as bad as it looked. Or smelled. Or felt.

"Don't look at me like that," Percy mumbled hoarsely to a glare from Maia, "I'm hungry." He added through a chewy mouthful, juices dripping down his chin.

And he didn't want to waste them. They were some of the remaining things Damasen had given him.

The lights in the elevator were artificial, a bit too bright for Percy, and the flickering didn't help either. He had to squint a bit, eyes watering.

He wasn't crying.

He wasn't.

But he was.

Damasen was supposed to be here. There was an empty space in the elevator, made specifically for him. The gap stared at him accusingly.

Percy sniffed hard, choking back the guilt that threatened to bubble over. He was right there. He could have- should have done something. But he had sat on that hellhound, watched that cyclops slice Damasen apart, and he didn't do a damn thing. He had deluded himself into believing that everything would be alright, that monsters were still as stupid as they had always been, that he and his friends were infallible but they weren't! And Damasen had paid for his stupid mistake.

Bob too, another moment of hesitation had seen Kampé stab him ruthlessly. Percy had been resentful to Bob at first, never getting a clear answer to the questions he asked, but Percy knew better now. Bob's amnesia had turned him innocent, almost like a child, no wonder Tartarus had affected him. And now Percy was more informed, he knew that the questions he had asked didn't have clear answers. How could Bob know the time if they were in a place outside of time?

How long had he been in Tartarus? Weeks? Months? ...Years? Percy honestly did not know. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know, if he would get out and be faced with a barren wasteland, wracked by the war, Gaia having taken over the world, that he'd become nothing more than a rumour, some demigod who abandoned their quest and doomed everyone...

No. No, it couldn't be that long. It couldn't. Percy refused to think about it. He tilted his head back, looking at the smooth metal doors and walls that he had grown to hate.

Maia jerked her head up suddenly, rearing back with a growl.

"What is it?" Percy pushed himself to his feet, grabbing his swords in his hands readily. "Maia-"

The doors began to shake roughly, like an earthquake was happening outside; Percy hooked his foot on the back of Maia's saddle and climbed up.

A ding echoed somewhere above him.

He had arrived.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **DID ANYONE SEE THE SEASON 8 PREMIERE OF THE WALKING DEAD? Oh my God. I'm not a fan of the daddy kink, bit gross, but Rick Grimes is the only man on this earth to earn the title of Daddy from me.**

 **Ginger people are so hot**.


	28. Leo II

**Okay, first of all, Guest reviewer DepressedTiger: Dude. Jesus Christ. That sounds amazing. I wish I could read that! I think I'll try to incorporate the general tone you want, but I've got a few plans as to what will happen. It's quite similar to what you want though. I hope you like it and keep reviewing, I actually loved reading that.**

 **Second of all, here's the new chappie. It's longer.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 28

Leo II

The group was tense and silent as they turned another corner, Hazel confirming that there was nothing potentially lethal coming up. Leo found himself at the back of them.

"Why am I at the back?" Leo muttered to Piper. "Everyone knows the guy at the back of the group gets killed first."

He winced at his tactlessness, briefly forgetting that Annabeth was dead. It seemed an awful and massive thing to forget, but Leo guessed it just hadn't really hit him yet. He still half expected a bossy order from the front of the group every few seconds, a blonde head turning around to make sure everyone was keeping up, and that they were okay.

Leo realised how much he missed her. Like, he really missed her. She'd been terrifying when he'd first met her, but Leo now knew that was just her desperation to find Percy. And to have died in such a horrible and painful way... She didn't deserve it. He missed the way that she, above anyone else, would send a small smile his way at his jokes, no matter how bad they were. Percy would do it often, along with Piper, but Annabeth would always do it. She made him feel appreciated. Leo had always felt like a seventh wheel, an odd one out, but he'd rather have all of his friends with him, happy and safe, than have a girlfriend. That was clear to him now.

No one acknowledged his slip, Leo observed thankfully. They carried on walking in the dark, his fire lighting the way, flickering along the ceiling.

Eventually they turned a corner into a round circular room. The stone floors and ceilings had made the room very cold, uncomfortable for someone like Leo. There were torches lining the walls, and mirrors on every surface, cracked and dusty. Leo could see a couple hundred versions of himself dotted about. It was like being in a hall of mirrors.

He dropped his fire and looked around.

"Can you feel the way out?" He heard Jason ask Hazel behind him.

Leo wandered over to a wall and placed his hand over it.

As he looked in the mirror, his eyebrows knitted together. He looked different. His hair had grown out longer and shaggier, and his face was leaner, so he looked less like an imp and more like one of those willowy elves in the fairy tales. There were thick smears of grease on his neck that he had missed while washing his face, almost as dark as the shadows underneath his eyes, purple like he'd been punched in the face a couple times.

He turned back to see Hazel looking troubled.

"The only way out is through there," she said as she pointed in one direction, at a relatively nondescript wall, "but there's a lot of support there, I think if we take it out, the whole room could collapse." She bit her lip worriedly and looked to the rest.

Frank was staring hard at the wall, as if he was trying to scold it for being so fragile. Jason and Piper were looking at each other, having some silent conversation. Nico watched his sister think.

"If we all just go near it, we smash it, then we duck in, we'll be fine." Leo said, shrugging. "Is the tunnel behind it strong?"

Hazel glanced at it.

"I think so." she said. "It's a little hard to tell, we're close to all those monsters, it's blurring into each other slightly. And it's thick behind. We won't be able to just hit it and smash it, that feels like it will take a lot of force to go through."

Jason straightened up.

"I'll smash it, you all go stand near-"

"No." Nico cut him off, putting his hand out to halt Jason. "I'll smash it. If this roof falls in, I can just shadow travel away. But it'll just land on you."

Jason blinked.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right." Leo saw a smile twitch onto his best friend's face for the first time since Annabeth had died. "We'll all stand over there. Whenever you're ready, Nico." He clapped the younger boy softly on the shoulder, who quirked up the corner of his mouth.

Leo followed the rest over by the wall, a few feet away to avoid any glass shards that would fly out.

Nico stood in the middle of the room, a little awkward but seemingly ignoring it. Leo noted how deeply he was breathing, his chest heaving slowly.

"Ready?" Asked the son of Hades.

Piper nodded, the rest of them pressing flat against the other walls.

Nico stepped closer, his hands flickering with some kind of black mist that darted about in sharp curves. It got blacker and more violent as Nico raised his hands, holding the dark blaze level with his shoulders.

A look of deep concentration in his face, Nico pushed his arms forward.

A bolt of flickering black energy shot out, and struck the mirrors, shattering it and the wall behind, chunks of rock flying out.

Leo covered his eyes to avoid the dust, before being thrown slightly off balance by the sudden shaking of the room.

Mirrors fell off walls, exploding across the floor, as spider-web cracked expanded across the ceiling rapidly.

"Leo!"

Leo had just been pulled into the tunnel by his suspenders as a large layer of the ceiling fell heavily to the floor.

It landed with an almighty crash, blocking in their tunnel, plunging them into darkness, and cut off their view of Nico, who had been sprinting towards them.

"No!" shouted Leo and Hazel, Leo's arms erupting in flames.

Hazel launched herself at the rock, her hands outstretched as she moved the rock a few inches, dust falling onto their horrified faces.

"Nico!" Frank bellowed angrily.

Leo heard Jason swear violently behind him and agreed with every word.

" _Nonononono_ -" Hazel began screaming as she lifted the heavy rock with sheer force, a thin beam of light coming in from the bottom. It was quickly extinguished as another crash came, the rest of the ceiling caving in.

"Nico!" She screamed, her eyes burning gold in the dim light of Leo's burning arms.

"No more!" Piper kicked the wall of the tunnel furiously, "No more, no more, not _another_ , not _again_ \- AGHHH!" She screamed, punching it so hard Leo saw blood, again and again.

Leo couldn't breathe- they couldn't take another death, they just couldn't, it wasn't fair, please-

"Uh-guys?" Came a voice behind them.

They all span around.

Nico stood there, looking curiously at them, a little dusty, a little shaken, but otherwise absolutely fine.

"Nico!"

He was instantly gripped in such a bear hug from Frank, that Leo doubted he could breathe. But he joined them anyway, gripping the small, quiet child of Hades that they had all grown to feel protective over tightly. He felt Jason's arms partially close over him, Piper's hand on his shoulder.

Hazel had flown towards her brother and speeds Leo didn't think possible, tears dripping down her nose as she sobbed into Nico's chest.

"I thought- we- again- that _you_ \- the ceiling- _dead_ \- we didn't-" Hazel's speaking was interrupted by gasps and hitches.

Sometimes, Leo forgot that Hazel was only thirteen.

"I shadow travelled." Nico's voice was muffled and surprised. "I told you I would."

"I didn't think you got there in time." Hazel sniffed wetly.

Leo had completely blanked about Nico's shadow travel, along with everyone else, despite being told minutes ago. They had lost so many members of their crew, they had all just assumed.

Leo didn't want to move from their inadvertent group hug. They were all warm and together, he could feel the love radiating off of each of them. But one by one, they drew away, until it was just Hazel, who was holding Nico's hand in a death grip.

"Don't you- don't you ever do that again." She told him firmly, wiping at her eyes. "Let's just keep going. Go left at the end."

No one questioned her, and they carried on in a strange atmosphere. Leo felt ecstatic that Nico was fine, but he honestly thought that he could cry very easily. Everyone's emotions were at an all time high.

"What was that stuff you used to blow up the wall?" Piper asked Nico quietly.

"Hellfire." Nico replied. "It takes a lot to use but it's powerful. I discovered it in Tartarus."

"Oh. Cool." Piper said.

The air temperature somehow dropped even further at the name, and Leo winced at how awkward Piper sounded. He got the impression that Nico hadn't meant to say that.

Nico began to tell them about the doors of death.

"When someone gets in the elevator, it will chime. When the chime sounds again, someone on our side needs to push the UP button, or the Doors won't open and Percy- well he'll be gone. We won't know when he's in, so we'll have to just hope that we let him out and not some other thing."

They turned left.

Leo could finally let his flames simmer down on his arms, dimly noting how his sleeves had charred at the edges. Every shirt. There were torches lighting the way now, and at the end, Leo could see the outline of a door.

"Is that-" He began.

"Yeah." Nico nodded, "The doors of death are through there, along with a couple hundred monsters."

"We're going in there." Jason said. "I don't even care anymore, Percy is through those doors, and I want him here, right now. Kill as many as you can, and protect those you can see. Got it?"

Everyone nodded.

Leo was ready to torch some monster ass, to just make them feel as angry and hurt as he was.

"Let's go." He said.

Nico counted down from three on his hands, before throwing open the door, that lead into a massive cavern, crawling with monsters.

From where they were stood on a slightly elevated ledge, Leo could get a good view of the entire room. The obsidian walls were carved with scenes of death: plague victims, corpses on the battlefield, torture chambers with skeletons hanging in iron cages – all of it embellished with precious gems that somehow made the scenes even more ghastly.

As in the Pantheon, the domed roof was a waffle pattern of recessed square panels, but here each panel was a stela – a grave marker with Ancient Greek inscriptions. Leo wondered if actual bodies were buried behind them.

He couldn't see any other exits. At the apex of the ceiling, where the Pantheon's skylight would've been, a circle of pure black stone gleamed, as if to reinforce the sense that there was no way out of this place – no sky above, only darkness.

Leo's eyes drifted to the centre of the room.

'Yep,' Leo muttered. 'Those are doors, all right.'

Fifty feet away was a set of freestanding elevator doors, their panels etched in silver and iron. A large black figure stood in front. Rows of chains ran down either side, bolting the frame to large hooks in the floor.

The area around the doors was littered with black rubble. Leo narrowed his eyes as he realized that an ancient altar to Hades had once stood there. It had been destroyed to make room for the Doors of Death.

Monsters were crowded about, pressed against walls and shoved into corners, cyclopes and empousai and hellhounds, the room filled with growls and roars and bellows.

"HEY!" Leo shouted.

Every monster head turned to see the six of them standing at the door, weapons aloft: Jason's sword crackling with electricity, Piper's eyes glinting as she bared her dagger, Frank's hands slowly growing claws, Hazel's spatha pointed upwards, tears now dried on her furious face, and Nico's stygian iron sword swinging dangerously from his hand.

Leo let his sword and hand burst into roaring flames.

"You're all already dead." Leo promised calmly into the silence.

He jumped in.

He immediately beheaded a monster, the others flying in behind, screams and clangs of metal thrown up around him.

Leo had stepped back to take a breath when he heard it.

In the centre of the room, the Doors of Death made a pleasant chiming sound. The green UP button on the right side of the frame began to glow. The chains shook. Something was in the elevator- Leo felt a small spark of hope- Percy?

That fueled him as he sliced into a dracaenae. All he saw for a few minutes was gold. Nothing but gold. His sword swung out of its own accord, his flames shooting out to vanquish monsters he hadn't even seen yet. He was pretty sure his whole body was on fire.

At some point he pulled back, checking on his friends, who were decimating and holding their own pretty well. He ducked a swing and retaliated, gold entering his vision again.

Suddenly a stomp that rivalled thunder itself bellowed across the chamber, shockwaves knocking a few off balance.

The monsters and demigods froze. Leo lifted his head; the figure that Leo had seen in front of the doors let its leg move back to where it was, the twenty-foot-tall shadowy figure looming next to the shaking Doors.

The giant Clytius, the bane of Hecate, was shrouded in black smoke, but Leo could see dragon-like legs with ash-coloured scales; a massive humanoid upper body encased in Stygian armour; long, braided hair that seemed to be made from smoke. His complexion was as dark as Death's. His eyes glinted cold as diamonds. He carried no weapon, but that didn't make him any less terrifying.

He stepped down, hundreds of monsters scuttling away from him.

Leo let himself be scared for a few seconds. Then, he lifted his chin. So he was tall. So was a giraffe. And Leo wasn't scared of any giraffes. Around him, he could see his friends straightening up, not one of them showing fear.

As Leo side-eyed them, he scanned for Nico; he had just seen him before Clytius had intervened, but now he had vanished.

There.

Out the corner of his other eye, he saw Nico hidden behind the doors. He blinked meaningfully at him, hoping he got the message. As soon as the doors chimed, Nico would let whatever or whoever out. They couldn't take any chances.

The monsters around them had backed off. They would have to fight Clytius until a God showed up, and fight him for a long as it took for the doors to chime. Leo looked up at him.

" _Yeah_? You're smoky and mute. Oh, we're so scared." Leo said, screwing up his nose.

Despite the fact that they were literally surrounded by hundreds of monsters and a giant that could only be killed if a God was present, which there wasn't, Leo heard Jason _snort_.

Clytius didn't move, but Leo saw his eyes get colder, if that was even possible.

"It's a nice place you got here," Piper joined, pretending to scan the cavern. "Bit of a fixer upper, but not too bad. You've got a bit of an infestation problem though." She gestured to the monsters.

Stall, was all that was going through Leo's brain, stall, stall!

Clytius lifted his sword a fraction.

"I think what we really mean," Leo started quickly, "is that Gaia could've put you anywhere but she puts you in some underground pit on door duty. That's not the best, is it?"

"I heard her say that Polybotes was her favourite son." Frank said conversationally to Hazel, who nodded convincingly.

"I heard that too."

"I thought it was Alcyoneus?" Jason interjected.

Leo had butterflies in his stomach, he was thoroughly intimidated by the sheer amount of monsters, but he also wanted to laugh at the absurdity of their conversation, this couldn't last.

As Jason and Frank debated over which giant was Gaia's favourite, Leo glanced sideways.

Four things happened in quick succession:

 _One_ , the doors chimed for the second time.

 _Two_ , Nico slapped the button a millisecond after hearing it.

 _Three_ , Clytius snapped, lunging forwards to kill them.

 _Four_ , the doors slid open, and something huge came out.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Oh God finally, yknow?**

 **My English class has tests every Wednesday; I've come 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, and then finally this week I came 1st. I was second to three different people, but one of them was my best friend so I'm cool with that. Kinda.**


	29. Percy XVIII

**Yo yo y'all. I've got exams again, sorry in advance, I may not be able to write much, but I'm at a good part of the story now where I've got lots of awesome stuff to write so idk.**

 **Cliffhangers suck, I know, but I use them a lot to a) Keep readers interested, b) To have a starting point for my next chapter and C) Draw attention to a particular event. I'm sorry about using them a lot, so therefore, I'm sorry about the next few chapters.**

 **Are we at 400 reviews yet? Jesus, 400. I remember getting 6 after posting the first chapter and being really happy, you guys... Just wow.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 29

Percy XVIII

The doors slid open.

Percy squinted at the change in light, the backs of his eyes throbbing, but kicked Maia on anyway, shooting out of that godforsaken elevator.

They emerged into some kind of pit, bright torches everywhere, lining the strangely carved walls of various precious metals. Swarms of monsters oozed into every available gap, with what looked like a giant in the centre, tall and dark, swiping at-

Percy saw a flash of blonde hair.

"Maia! Sweep!" He bellowed, standing up, wobbling, before jumping briefly into the air as Maia span, her tail cutting a lethal dent into the crowds.

Percy landed back on her, the forward momentum throwing him off balance for a second, but quickly corrected; it was a move that the two had perfected over time.

A sizeable dent was now cut into the horde; there weren't as many as there were at the doors, maybe half the amount? But Percy hadn't really had any control when he had wiped them out, he had just exploded- now it would be a fight, and now there were normal mortals joining, a set of very specific mortals.

Percy stretched two hands out, one clutching a sword, and swiftly lopping off a head, the other clenching, a couple of nearby monsters squealing before they went poof.

Percy heard the giant roar in anger and snapped his head up, seeing a familiar weapon lodged inbetween the metal plates: Hazel's spatha. For the first time in a while, Percy let a wide grin crack across his face, using the burst of emotion fuel him as he threw back two small cyclopes.

He and Maia had a wall to their backs now, Percy swivelling round every few seconds to clear some off Maia's tail, as she darted forwards, snapping up clouds of gold dust between her mighty jaws.

There was a flicker next to him, darker, like a bit of shoe polish smeared into his peripheral vision. He glanced round just in time to see Nico aiming a slice at Maia's underbelly.

"Nico!" Percy shouted, flinging his sword out, parrying the blow while trying not to disarm him in the group of monsters surrounding them.

A clash of metal on metal didn't seem to faze Nico, who clearly hadn't heard Percy over the din of roars and screeches, as he simply pulled back before lunging for Maia again.

"Ni- Nic- Di Angelo! Hey! _Stop_ \- NICO!" Percy shouted in exasperation.

Percy slid down the side of Maia slightly, his hands clinging on to the ragged reins to stay on, and kicked Nico in the shoulder as lightly as he could.

Nico stumbled back a little, head snapping upwards ready to fight a new enemy. Percy stared at him, eyebrows raised a bit desperately.

Nico blinked.

His dark eyes, that had been burning with the heat of the battle, wiped clean completely, seemingly looking at Percy all over, and then at Maia in disbelief.

His mouth fell open.

His sword lowered quickly, arm looking almost boneless.

Percy saw his mouth move in shock, probably saying his name, but couldn't give him any more time, gesturing behind Nico at the advancing monsters, before turning to run through a monster who had climbed on top of Maia. When he glanced back, he saw Nico wipe out three dracaenae with one wide slicing arc, a victorius smile radiating off the son of Hades. Nico turned back around, clearly shouting something at Percy, still- well if Percy had to describe it, he would say the younger boy was almost beaming.

Percy watched him make rapid shapes with his hands, confused, before he understood; the giant could only be killed by a God and a demigod working together, and judging by how Nico pointed at himself and then upwards, he was off to go get one. He was gone a few seconds later, with the familiar flicker of shadow travel.

Percy turned back to see a deep cut get slashed into Maia's shoulder. Maia roared, bucking slightly, as Percy caught the monsters who did it, exploding them as quick as a flash.

Percy could see that he was holding her back a little, so, leaning forwards, he pushed off, landing on the stone floor in a roll, swinging upwards with his sword as he stood up.

Shoving his way into the middle of the crowd, Percy began fighting. A similar feeling filled him to the Battle of New York. He magically dodged every weapon, or the weapons hit him and just glanced off of him. He could feel the fluidity taking over, every move one of a sequence, ducking, spinning, supple, elegant motions like a flood weaving through buildings; Percy wreaked a similar destruction.

He sliced through armor like it was made of paper. Lumbering monsters just melted. Snake men exploded. Hellhounds that came into contact simply turned away, attacking those nearest each other. Percy slashed and stabbed and whirled, barely keeping a lid on the whirlwind of emotions that bubbled within, a chuckle bursting out every now and then: he was back on earth, all his friends were fighting alongside him, and they were kicking ass.

As Percy decimated the last few that were close to him, the rest sensibly choosing to flee and fight someone else, he saw another flash, this time a blinding white.

Through the dust clouding his vision, Percy let out a raw smile as he saw Hecate appearing, Nico darting out behind her and clearing his path. Her hands crackled with burning red fire.

Several more flashes; the Olympians had arrived.

Percy heaved a heavy breath out, spitting a mouthful of something- what, he didn't even know- out of his mouth. He kicked a pile of gold dust in satisfaction, picking up his sword off the floor. Percy raised his eyebrows: he didn't remember dropping his sword.

From where he was stood, at the back of the hall, leaning against the wall, Percy watched the rest of the monsters flee, and the chaotic fight between his friends, Hecate and the giant- Percy couldn't remember which one, with some Olympians standing around, weapons brandished should they need to interfere. They hadn't noticed him yet.

With a loud roar and a crash that shook the ceiling, the giant fell to the floor, a myriad of weapons now in the chinks of its armour. Hecate and Hazel were stood on its torso. Two swords held above their hands, two glints of metal as they plunged, one gigantic poof of gold.

Percy swallowed at the unwelcome memory of Damasen, shoving it deep back in his mind.

The cavern was quiet now, the remaining hordes having scattered back into the tunnels to escape. Percy could hear the heavy breathing of his friends. He searched for the blonde hair, but found only Jason's.

"Drakon!" He heard Ares cry to his left.

His head snapped sideways, the war God waving his sword above his head manically as he barrelled towards Maia, who had reared back like a threatened cat.

"STOP!" Percy bellowed, darting in front of her.

Ares ground to a halt and his eyes boggled comically.

"Jackson?" He said incredulously.

"Percy!" Nico ran towards him.

Nico's body thudded around his middle, pulling him into a hug.

" _Percy_?"

"Percy!"

"PERCY!"

His friends' heads shot up, and they sprinted as fast as they could towards him. Percy squinted, not seeing Annabeth with them. More bodies crashed into the hug.

"I can't believe it, we- you- and-" Piper seemed to be lost for words as she babbled, smoothing back his sweaty hair in an almost motherly way, a bright smile radiating off her.

"Bro-" Jason choked, grabbing his shoulders and yanking him into a tight hug, one that was replicated instantly by a fiercely tearful Frank, whose face flickered with a thousand animal forms.

Percy let his forehead fall onto Frank's broad shoulder, and clenched his fists as a voice swam into his head, a voice he loathed; "You could have chosen a new life down there," Gaia said, almost pityingly, "Another wasted chance. You would have been safe from me there. My plan continues."

Percy gritted his teeth until she stopped talking, trying to control the wave of rage that rose in him at the mere sound of her voice. Meanwhile, below his shoulders, Hazel was surprisingly not crying, instead just burying her head as deep as she could into him, like she was trying to burrow into him. Leo had let go partially, but still had a tight grip on his wrist, his brown eyes shiny. Nico had pulled back too, angling his head away but Percy saw him wipe away some stray tears with the edge of his sleeve.

"Percy..." Jason shook his head, looking him up and down with a dazed expression.

"What is the damn Maeonian drakon doing here?" Ares asked him, levelling a spear at Maia threateningly.

Percy put his hand in-between them and shook his head firmly.

"She's friendly and she's tamed. She won't hurt anyone unless I say so." He looked at his friends' wide eyes. "Her name's Maia." He added on the end.

Leo whistled.

"You tamed a drakon. Dude that's metal-"

"It wasn't me." Percy cut him off shaking his head.

He had no intention of going into any detail about Damasen right then, but to claim that he had done something his friend had done felt dirty. Percy couldn't do it. His friends seemed to be waiting for an explanation, but Percy had more on his mind- something- someone, very important.

"Hey," Percy began, looking around, "Where's Annabeth?"

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **DepressedTiger: dude, make an account, I wanna thank you every time you review!**

 **In the UK right now, it was like -1 degrees Celsius oh my days. I don't know the equivalent in Fahrenheit, hol up lemme Google... 30.2? There we go.**

 **Hey guys, there's a scene that's gonna happen in this story, but I'm not sure which character to pick for it. Do you want A) the unexpected and emotional twist that'll make y'all rage at me, or B) a bloody and emotional fight against someone y'all hate, which leaves space for more plot twists. I love both versions, but I gotta choose. Or maybe C) Attempt to merge them?**


	30. Jason II

**400 reviews oh my stars. Next stop 1000, hahaha haha ha haaaa... Yeah but seriously. You want it just as much as I do.**

 **I got another level 9 in my English language exam, YEET. And apparently I got the top mark in the maths paper 1 in my class? Yeet?**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 30

Jason II

Jason wiped sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, taking a wobbling step back and supporting Piper, who had taken a nasty blow to her leg. Frank stepped in front of him, helping a victorious Hazel step away from where the giant's body was, her spatha clattering to the floor.

"Your hair's still on fire." Jason told his best friend absently.

Next to him, Leo patted it out with his hand.

Hecate seemed to be exchanging a word with Hazel, who couldn't keep the satisfaction off her face at bringing down Clytius. Jason had never been more proud of her; when Clytius had lunged at them, Frank had been a blur, first a demigod then a dragon, almost rugby tackling the giant before they had all stepped in.

"Drakon!" He heard Mars cry to his right.

The big three Olympians had seemingly stayed up on the surface; only Hecate, Mars, Apollo and Mercury were fighting down in the temple. He watched Mars charge towards the drakon that had somehow survived, pressed up against a wall, rearing back as if to strike.

" _STOP_!" Someone bellowed, a body darting in front of it.

Mars ground to a halt and Jason saw his weapon slide out his hand a little.

"Jackson?" He heard Mars say.

Jason blinked.

"Percy!" Nico was a blur as he shot past him.

"Percy?" Piper gasped next to him.

" _Percy_!" Leo shouted gleefully.

"PERCY!" Hazel shouted, louder than he'd ever heard her before.

The rest streaking ahead, Jason helped Piper limp as quickly as possible over to their missing friend.

"I can't believe it, we- _you_ \- and-" Piper seemed to be lost for words as she babbled, running her hand over Percy's head as if she couldn't believe he was truly there; Jason couldn't either.

He hadn't expected to miss Percy as much as he did.

"Bro-" Jason choked, grabbing his shoulders and yanking him into a tight hug, feeling Percy's shoulder blades on his back, sharper than they had been before.

When had Percy come out? With the drakon? How had he held off long enough to make it? The more Jason recalled the past events, the more his eyes widened. He had seen a figure fighting in the middle of a horde of monsters, sometimes slashing with a sword and other times just throwing monsters back with his bare hands- at the time, Jason had assumed it was Mars. Now he wasn't so sure. But it couldn't have been Percy? Not in the state he was in...

They all retreated after a few minutes to give the son of Poseidon some space.

"Percy..." Jason shook his head, not really believing what he was seeing before him.

To put it simply: Percy looked like he'd been put through a meat grinder.

Though Percy was only an inch or two below Jason's 6 foot 2 height, Jason still got a good view of him. He was topless, though Jason suspected the dark red fabric around his ribs used to be his light blue shirt, now a bloody bandage substitute. His trousers were rags, barely reaching his thighs. Only Percy's shoes had retained their original structure, though they were as battered as they come.

Percy was covered.

In blood, in gold dust, grime, dirt, some golden liquid, all was spattered across his filthy chest and arms. Jason instantly picked out any injuries he could see: a red burn in the shape of a ring around Percy's right forearm. A large amount of blood stained across Percy's stomach. His left leg was mottled with bruises, a thick fabric winding around the middle of his shin. Cuts and bruised littered his body.

He looked like he hadn't slept in all the time he had been down there. Percy's hair was greasy and clogged with thick grease and what looked like blood, and it hung over his pale face in dirty clumps. Percy clearly hadn't seen the sun in a long time; he looked like a ghost. There were deep purple-black gouges underneath his washed out eyes, that looked swollen, as if he'd been punched in both of them. He had a firm set to his jaw though, and however drained he seemed, Percy's eyes were as alert as ever, as he gripped on some twisted gold thing that resembled a sword.

"What is the damn Maeonian drakon doing here?" Mars was still talking, lifting his spear at the fearsome drakon.

Percy stuck his hand out in-between them and shook his head, an action that confused Jason.

"She's friendly and she's tamed. She won't hurt anyone unless I say so. Her name's Maia." He added.

Jason felt his eyes go wide. Percy had a freakin drakon? And judging by the way he had defended it, or her or whatever, they clearly had some close bond. The drakon- Maia- the _Maeonian_ drakon, of course it would be called _Maia_ , this was _Percy_ they were talking about- crept closer to Percy, who put his hand on her frilled neck in some kind of reassuring act.

Leo whistled. Jason could see that while he was concerned for their friend as well, the son of Hephaestus was impressed too. Jason had to admit that he also was. Dude falls into Tartarus with a broken arm, without a sword or any help, and he comes out with- was that two swords Jason could see?- a pet drakon, and (Jason observed a bit curiously) no sign of a broken arm.

Leo was still talking next to him.

"You tamed a drakon. Dude that's metal-" Leo said, not taking his eyes off of it.

"It wasn't me." Percy cut him off, shaking his head, his voice low as if someone had punched him in the throat.

Jason narrowed his eyes at the flash of pain that flitted through Percy's eyes. It vanished as soon as he had seen it, but there was something hidden in those deep swirling eyes, and Jason could almost sense that there was something more to Percy's story.

But Percy didn't say anymore about 'Maia', instead choosing to ask Jason something he really wished wouldn't come up so soon.

"Hey," Percy turned to them, "Where's Annabeth?"

There was a beat of silence, where Jason could suddenly hear his heartbeat in his ears, and feel the cold air of the underground temple settle on his skin.

"Percy-" Piper began next to him, her voice small and almost fearful.

But she was swiftly interrupted by a presence behind them.

"Percy!" Mercury cried happily, a large smile beaming out from him.

Jason watched as Percy quickly wiped at something on his chest, leaving a reddish gap in the grime on his skin. It was something golden, Jason thought, but he couldn't be sure.

"Hermes?" Percy lifted his chin but did not smile.

Mercury- though Jason guessed he was in his Greek form now- Hermes didn't seem to notice, too busy giving Percy's torn body concerned glances.

"Your father is up on the surface, along with the rest of your camps. I'm sure they're very curious as to find out whether you made it!" Hermes said cheerfully.

Percy gave a sort of stiff nod.

"Right." He nodded again, this time slower, before shaking his head as if clearing away cobwebs. "They're all up there? Right. Yeah, alright- how do we get out?" Percy addressed Hazel.

"Follow me." Hazel said firmly, her hands in her pockets, no doubt searching for any ambrosia for Percy, as he was sure they had all done in the past minute, but Jason knew they were all out.

A loud clang caught his attention, and Jason glanced to the side to see Percy's drakon biting through one of the chains on the doors of death. Jason blinked- he had completely forgotten. He hurried forwards, flipping out his sword, and sliced down through the chains with a metallic reverberation that shook his teeth.

The doors thundered in a high pitched tone, shaking, like the wail of a dying animal, before freezing, and turning to a dark grey dust along the floor.

"Maia." Jason heard Percy call as he and Hazel walked through the tunnel doors, the rest joining them.

The drakon flounced forwards, all the demigods backing away except Percy, who placed a hand on her scaled shoulder as they walked.

Jason gave the room one last glance; piles of gold dust everywhere, walls smashed, deep slashes embedded into the floor. When he turned into the tunnels, he didn't look back.

The journey back up was tedious, but shorter than the first. Because they knew the way or because everyone was lost in their thoughts, Jason didn't know. He would just be glad to see the cloudy grey of his father's domain once again.

"Hazel says it's not far now." Piper muttered to him, slipping her hand in his for support as she limped.

"That's good." Jason replied, still thinking deeply.

Piper squeezed his hand.

"Jason-"

"I know."

"He thinks-"

"I _know_." Jason told her again, quietly. "I know."

"What do we do?" She said, though he could tell she wasn't expecting any answer that would help them.

Which was lucky, because Jason had no answers that could help their situation right now.

"We- we have to do something, we can't stall this forever." He muttered.

"I know. But right now, we need to say something, anything-"

"Do _we_?"

"We have to tell him!" She hissed. "He can't just walk out, expecting to see her and not know that she isn't- _that she-_ that he- it's just not fair to him! It's not right!" She finished, eyes glittering.

Jason's heart clenched. He agreed with her completely.

But he didn't want to tell him.

He didn't want to look into the eyes of the demigod who had walked through Tartarus just to get back to his friends and girlfriend, only to find out that she was dead. That the girl he loved to the point of _self sacrifice_ was dead. He didn't know if he could.

But was it so selfish of him to hold off on telling Percy for as long as he could? Percy had just got back and they had all just brought down a giant. He didn't want to ruin it.

But Piper was right. It wasn't fair to him.

"Come with me?" He asked, not trying to keep the pleading tone out his voice.

"We should all do it." Piper agreed. "I'll ask Hazel if she can stop and then we-"

"Pipes?" Jason cut her off, sticking his arm out.

For the last minute or so that they had been talking, Jason hadn't noticed how the others had seemingly sped up- or, as he now realised, gone the other way.

She looked mildly annoyed at being cut off and turned to him.

"What?"

"We've gone the wrong way."

Piper blinked at the dead end in front of them and swore.

"When did we lose them?" She asked, turning around to look down both ends of the tunnel.

"I don't know, let's just retrace our steps?" Jason suggested.

They had been trailing up and down for a few minutes, dimly lit by Jason's crackling hands, before he found a small metal bolt on the floor, leading to the right of them. Shrugging at each other, they followed the tunnel, finding a few more as they went.

"This is Leo." Jason realised.

"It's very Hansel and Gretel." Piper agreed. "Like he's leaving clues."

"Like who's leaving clues?" A voice round the corner asked.

"Leo!" Piper smiled at the bedraggled boy.

"I turned back and saw you were gone, thought I'd come find you." said Leo.

"We were following your little bolts on the floor." Jason told him. "Thanks for leaving them."

Leo looked slightly confused before his eyes gained understanding.

"Oh, right. I hadn't realised I was doing it. I haven't done it in a while. It's just, y'know, we go into temples and stuff all the time, do you never get worried that we'll get lost? Without Hazel, I mean." Leo explained as they walked.

Jason had to concede his point, but before he could reply, Piper tapped his shoulder.

"Look!" she exclaimed, pointing at a lighter stretch of wall round the corner.

The trio hurried, round corners and corners like some stone helter-skelter, until finally, they came out at the top, the lazy late afternoon sun beaming at them as if it had been there all along, just floating in the grey-blue sky.

A huge crowd was outside, the Roman/Greek army had arrived, Reyna at the front. Judging by the gold dust in the grass, they had caught the stragglers that had fled. To Jason's surprise, the Argo II was parked on the grass, the Gods sat in front of it.

"I programmed it to follow us." Leo mentioned to his side.

In front of them, Percy was stood next to Hazel and Frank. As Jason walked up behind them, he could already hear the mutters from the army.

A lone Greek camper had walked up to Percy, with panic-filled eyes that roamed Percy's body, and a sad expression.

"Percy," Jason heard him say, "Man, I'm _so_ sorry..."

Jason didn't hear the rest but he didn't have to, his pulse quickening, as a second later Percy's head slowly turned round.

" _What_?" Percy demanded, his voice hoarse and scratchy.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Oooh I can't wait for the next chapter yall. I was gonna end this in a different place but then ya boi had this cray cray idea, (and I also didn't know how to start this chapter) and now it's going in this wicked direction.**

 **I counted up all your votes and it seems that C, merge them, is the one you want. That isn't for a while yet, so hopefully it'll give me time to plan, but I may change my mind and stick with one, I dunno yet. But I can gosh-darn-fuckin-diddly promise I'll try.**


	31. Percy XIX

**Phew, that's all my mock exams done. Don't particularly want any of the results back, but eh what you gonna do? Art was the last one I did, cuz were doing surrealism, I did a fish in the jungle with a grandfather clock melted over it (don't ask), and it turned out okay, but my the light tones on my fish were a bit iffy. Idk. I got paint all over my white shirt.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 31

Percy XIX

Before they stepped out of whatever underground maze Percy had come out in, Hazel turned to him. They hadn't spoke on the way up, which Percy was grateful for, but whatever she had been thinking about she now chose to voice.

"Percy," She began, looking him in the eyes softly, "I don't know what happened down there, and you don't have to tell us anything, but just know that I'm always here if you wanna talk."

Percy's mouth twitched up as he smiled at her.

"I know, Hazel. Thanks." He told her quietly.

"Me too." Frank added from behind them. "Anything, anytime, anywhere."

Percy glanced between the two of them and nodded. That was seemingly all that needed to be said, as, without prompt, they climbed up the few steps out into the light.

The backs of Percy's eyes stung a little, but not for one second did he take his eyes off the sky.

It was so light: a delicate blue, washed with grey, handfuls of clouds lazily drifting across, the sun just- just being there, innocent, not obstructed by anything, not burning anything, just there, lighting up the world. Percy stood there for a while, his neck starting to ache a little. The air was thin and cool. It was like the first dip in a swimming pool, refreshing and soothing.

At last Percy tore his eyes away from the sky, choosing not to think about the glances Hazel and Frank were sending each other, and observed the ground instead. Soft grass pleasantly squidgy beneath his feet. Green, a colour he hadn't seen much of in- Percy noted that he still needed to ask how long he'd been down there. Hazel and Frank both looked the same, a little tired and a little battered, but still the same age.

The strange stone ruins they had come out of were surrounded by people, most sitting down on the soft ground, polishing swords, but Reyna was stood in the middle, spearing one of the remaining monsters with ease. Flags were stuck in the earth, the colours of purple and orange dancing in the gentle breeze that flowed through every now and then. He was surprised to see the Gods sitting in front of the Argo II. Poseidon hadn't seen him yet. Percy scanned for Annabeth- didn't Hermes say she was up here?

As they walked forwards, heads shot up and Percy suddenly became very aware of just how filthy he was. Greeks and Romans alike gawped. Percy kept his head high, a quick look in the corner of his eye confirming Hazel was glaring at the starers.

On his right, a camper wearing an orange t-shirt shot up, walking quickly over to where Percy had come to a halt. It was Travis. He was looking at him like Percy had slapped him.

"Percy... You..."

"Hey, Travis." Percy greeted him awkwardly.

Travis scratched the back of his head before his face fell, and he began to bite his lip, pity smeared across his face.

Percy narrowed his eyes a little.

"Percy," Travis began slowly, not quite meeting his eyes, "Man, I'm so sorry about- about Annabeth. I know how she-"

Percy's eyes snapped up.

 _Sorry_?

A disgusting feeling was crawling through his stomach and up his throat.

Something had happened.

And Annabeth was involved.

Percy turned his head to look at Travis.

"What?" He asked, not quite sure what he had just heard.

There had to be an explanation coming.

Percy dimly noted all the campers had gone silent, watching the two talk. Travis' eyes went wide.

"Oh Gods, I thought you knew!" Travis exclaimed, starting to turn round to look for help from the other campers.

Percy's hand shot out and curled round his arm, halting him in place firmly.

"Knew what?" Percy hissed.

Travis paled.

"Percy, we all tried but-"

"Where is she?"

"We didn't know-"

" _Where is she_?" Percy cut him off angrily.

"Percy-" He heard Piper's voice behind him. "Percy, let him go."

Percy didn't move an inch.

"Somebody better tell me where my girlfriend is right now or I _swear_ -" Percy growled.

"On the ship!" Travis blurted. "She's on the ship!"

Percy let him go, internally wincing at the red marks he had left behind on the other boy's skin, but brushing it aside as he strode towards the Argo II.

Multiple sets of footsteps followed him quickly but Percy ignored them.

"Percy, there's something you need to know!" Jason called, a desperate tone underlying his words.

Percy shut himself off, a roaring in his ears reminiscent to a tsunami.

He climbed up the side of the ship, landing on the deck with a bang, before flinging open the door to the main room, hearing the crash as it ricocheted off the wall.

Percy walked slowly in.

The room was empty; no-one was in there.

And yet...

Percy's emotions were swirling through him- he was tired, he was angry that Annabeth wasn't with him, numb at the thought of something happening to her.

Percy stood in the middle of the room.

The floorboards creaked beneath him.

Well, there was no one in here, no reason to stay-

Percy couldn't ignore it anymore: his eyes zeroed in on the sheet covered table, a lump underneath in the shape of-

 _That isn't her,_ his mind straight up refused.

Percy took a step in that direction.

 _She's probably in her room!_ His mind got louder, trying to jerk his body away.

Percy reached out, with trembling fingertips.

 _She's not under here!_ His mind bellowed.

Percy grasped the light fabric, so white and clean compared to his blackened fingers from the elevator.

 _Don't do it_! His mind screamed.

He pulled on it gently, and it slid down smoothly; like silk.

Percy felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to his chest.

He dimly remembered sinking to his knees, his girlfriend's pale, almost blue hand clutched in his.

Her hair was dried out, lank and thin on the table, hanging in clumps, once golden and shining, now dirty and brown. Her skin was puffed out, veins close to the surface, coloured grey and empty. Her eyes were closed, eyelids streaked with grey branches of lines. Percy watched, not daring to breathe, not touching her, keeping as still as he could, but she didn't move a centimetre.

Percy slid forwards, taking both her hands in his, eyes roaming her face for a flicker of familiarity. He was here now. She could wake up. He was here for her.

Her clothes were damp and stodgy; there was a puddle of water underneath the table, but not even the smell of sea salt could obscure the almost overpowering stench of Annabeth's body, time rotting away what remained.

A gasp choked out of him, uncontrollable, like a retch, unable to keep it in any longer.

Percy leant down and pressed his forehead against hers tentatively, almost scared that she would move. Her skin was ice cold and marbled in some places.

Percy choked again, a grunt bubbling up. He moved backwards, no longer wanting to be near that thing, that- that _thing_ \- that cold dead thing that clearly isn't Annabeth, it's too still, too grey-

"Percy." Came a whisper from behind him.

Percy span round, sword out before he realised his arms had moved, unshed tears boiling in his fiery eyes.

Piper didn't react to the sword at her throat, and neither did his friends behind her, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"There was a- a monster. It was huge. We were all f-fighting it but we lost track of Annabeth, sh-she got trapped and-" Sobs wracked Piper's body.

Percy was shaking his head subconsciously.

He wasn't hearing this, it wasn't happening, he was still in Tartarus, it was just messing with his head-

Percy let his sword sink back to his side, and took hesitant steps backwards, before turning back to Annabeth, his hands shaking furiously.

He brushed back a stringy lock of hair off her face. Annabeth- there, _there_ , now she was perfect- she- she always got annoyed with her hair in her face. Pushing it back angrily when it fell down while she was writing or sketching out one of her blueprints, a cute look of concentration on her face, that quickly morphed into a sarcastic smile when she saw he was watching her, telling him he was drooling and he wasn't even asleep this time -

Percy felt a noise rip out of his lungs, cracking at the end, like a wail and a bellow at the same time, a pathetic noise that made him want to curl up and cry, but instead he just hunched his shoulders so tightly it hurt.

"P-Percy?" Another whisper behind him, one of his friends, but Percy was too blank to register who.

His eyes found Annabeth again; he was unable to draw them away. This wasn't real. This wasn't happening.

He hadn't been there to help.

He had abandoned her.

And now she was dead.

Percy heard the splintering crash, saw the pens and daggers clattering across the floor, and felt the strain in his arms before he realised he had upended one of the desks near him. His chest was heaving. She- she- _she_ -

Percy suddenly pulled his fist back and punched it through the nearest window, smashing it into jagged pieces. Yanking his arm back, he threw a handful of glass shards to the floor, his skin still impeccably smooth underneath the Achilles' blessing.

Percy ran a hand through his hair agitatedly, stepping in every direction, unable to stand still, backing away from where Annabeth lay.

She's dead, his mind told him. She's dead. She's never coming back. She'll never laugh again. She'll never smile again. She'll never design a building ever again. She'll never go to college. You'll never get to tell her how much you love- loved- her-

"Just _shut up!_ " Percy shouted at his mind as he kicked a chair into a wall, where it snapped into several pieces.

Percy's breathing had turned erratic, little dots flying about the edges of his vision

"Percy?"

Percy went for the door, slipping inbetween his friends and climbing down the ship, jumping the last few metres, ignoring the cautious stares of all the demigods gathered.

"Percy, please, wait!"

Percy closed his eyes, a thumping headache forming. He could feel his heartbeat pulsing through his body. When he opened his eyes again, Jason was in front of him, a desperate expression smeared across his face.

"Percy, please listen-" He began as the others caught up with them.

"I thought she'd be safe." Percy said bluntly, not entirely meaning to out loud, referencing his own failings, but Jason recoiled from him as if Percy had swung at him.

"We- _we didn't know_ -!" Jason's eyes began to well up with tears.

Percy suspected his eyes had too, but everything had been a blur since he'd got out of Tartarus, Percy wasn't sure what was going on anymore.

"She got trapped underneath a boat, Percy, the sea monster, it was huge, we couldn't see anyone-"

Percy felt sick burst up his throat, cutting off his airways for a few seconds.

"She _drowned_?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

Nobody said anything.

"She drowned." Percy confirmed to himself quietly, nodding slowly.

His head swivelled, very slowly, and very deliberately, to where Poseidon and the other Gods were stood, all watching him. Percy dimly noted that Aphrodite was crying. He caught his father's eyes.

"She drowned?" He shouted, his voice echoing in the air, wrathful fury coursing through his veins as he marched over to them.

Poseidon stepped forwards to meet him in the middle, an apologetic look in his eyes.

"Percy, son, I'm so relieved you made it out, and I know Annabeth-"

Percy punched him straight across the face.

The God staggered backwards, wincing.

"She drowned! In your domain! She's dead!" Percy bellowed.

His voice shook with such a ravaging fury that he could feel his blood start twisting in his body, almost painfully.

"I know." Poseidon nodded, infuriatingly sympathetic as he rubbed his jaw.

"Then _where were you_?" Percy's eyes blazed as he shouted.

"We had just got our identities back, we were all very disorientated." Poseidon explained. "I wasn't in my right mind. If I could have, I would have done something, but-"

"That's not good enough." Percy told him coldly.

Around them, the air thickened, drops of water beginning to fall from the sky, where thick black clouds had started to form.

Poseidon stumbled back a little again, a look of deep-rooted shock on his father's face revealing that Percy had accidently taken a hold on his father's ichor.

"You dare?" Zeus stepped into the picture, his eyes a piercing blue that Percy met head on. He guessed Zeus was referring to the storm building up above them, not the ichor thing, which Poseidon still looked shocked about. "You will do well to remember that you are just a child, Jackson, you cannot-!"

"I'll do whatever I _damn_ want!" Percy hissed, turning his attention to him. "Annabeth is _dead_."

"Hero or not, I will smite you where you stand!" Zeus bellowed as he stepped forwards threateningly.

"Dad!" Jason cried behind him.

Percy stepped forwards too, nearly toe to toe with Zeus.

"Do it," He challenged in a low voice, "I _dare_ you."

Lightning cracked overhead as Zeus' eyes lit up, the demigods around them falling to their knees in respect.

"Who do you think you are?" Zeus demanded.

"I think I'm the guy with the Blessing of Nyx on his arm!" Percy spat, before turning slightly, exposing his smoking tattoo.

Zeus, and all the Gods gathered behind him froze.

"The Primordial?" Artemis asked, eyebrows knitted together.

Percy nodded grimly. "Lovely woman. I did her a favour, she took a shine to me. Gave me her Blessing."

Zeus now had a look of growing horror on his face.

"You... did a favour... for a _Primordial_?" Apollo asked slowly.

"What did you do?" Poseidon asked him, a little desperately, standing next to his brother.

"Doesn't matter." Percy lied. "Nothing matters anymore." He added quietly, turning his back on the Olympians.

"Of course it matters!" Zeus roared behind him. "What have you done?"

Percy's anger, which had dulled to a cold rage, sparked back up into a full inferno.

"I said, it doesn't matter! You-" Percy cut himself off as a very dangerous idea hit him. "Where's Hades?" He asked, quieter.

His father looked a little confused. "The Underworld?" He answered, before it clicked, and he held out a hand warningly to Percy. "Percy, you can't-"

Percy turned to face his friends, who were still kneeling, all looking at him with wide eyes.

"I'll be back," Percy told them. "Keep Annabeth here."

Nico was shaking his head.

"Percy, my father won't-"

But Percy ignored them. He took one look at his pleading friends, and another at the incredulous Olympians.

His Nyx tattoo began to leak copious amounts of smoke down his arm, before the scenery around him blurred as he shadow travelled.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Yo Yo Yo y'all! I have a feeling there are a lot of mistakes in this but I'm too lazy to go back and check. In one of the hellhound chapter, I'm pretty sure I spell drowned 'drwoned', but I just can't be bothered to go back and change it. Actually, as I'm writing this, I have a feeling that I did change it a couple months ago, cuz it was grating on me. Idk.**

 **It's my birthday in a couple weeks! The big 1 6. Time to make permanent life choices, kiddos! (curls up in duvet with wide unstaring eyes and slowly rocks back and forth)**

 **Poseidon: Percy, I'm very sorry for your loss-**

 **Percy- (smacks a bitch)**


	32. Percy XX

**Sup yall. We've had a few of our exam results: I got an A** in my English lang, an A in my English lit, an A in geography, an A in ICT, an A and a C (overall B) in Art, and I think a C in maths? That's cool. Idk, I'm highkey zoning out these days.**

 **Birthday countdown is T-minus 3 days! (The 5th!)**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 32

Percy XX 

Percy tore out of the shadows cast by a nearby tree, and stumbled out onto the grass.

He ignored the massive surge of fatigue that he felt well up underneath his blessing, from the sheer distance he had travelled, the smoke from his tattoo extending in tendrils to wrap around his torso like a scarf, easing the edges but not taking the pressure off. Percy shoved it to the back of his mind and shut it off, determined to carry on.

Giggles of laughter around him sliced through the air like knives, echoing up around Central Park, normal conversations smothering him, so _casual_ , they didn't even know what was happening to their world, what was happening to young children, dying, because they were cursed to be half God.

Percy took a few seconds to breathe in the New York air, before striding forwards to go find it. He had pictured the LA entrance, but he couldn't control it that well, although this one would be fine too.

It took a few minutes, but eventually Percy found the familiar pile of rocks, looking no different to the first time Percy had used it with Nico, to go get the Achilles' blessing the first time.

The Door of Orpheus.

One of the two major entrances to the Underworld.

Orpheus wanted the love of his life back; it was ironic that Percy was now using his door for the exact same purpose.

Hades wouldn't know he was coming; he wouldn't until Percy wanted him to. And by then, Percy would be right on top of him.

He needed her back.

Last time, he had required Grover to play his reed pipes to open it. Percy didn't have that luxury. But what he did have was liquid anger burning fiery streams just underneath his surface of his skin and two ancient blessings layered into his body.

Pulling some water from the lake which was just north of them, Percy reared back and slammed his fists onto the rocks, the water rushing into cracks and tearing deeper fissures.

The boulders trembled.

Percy increased the pressure until his heartbeat blocked out every other sound, like he'd held his breath for too long, and, with a final slam, they cracked open, revealing a triangular crevice. He peered inside. The familiar steps led down into the darkness. The air smelled of mildew and death. Just like last time. Percy stomped down the steps It led straight to the land of Hades.

As he plunged into darkness, Percy was surprised to find that he could see. It wasn't full clarity, and he couldn't see colours, but he could see outlines, silvery like moonlight was shining on him.

"Thanks, Nyx." Percy whispered, striding forwards.

The stairs went on forever-narrow, steep, and slippery. Yet Percy was taking them three at a time. He wasn't playing games now.

He emerged at the base of a cliff, on a plain of black volcanic sand. It was so much lighter than Tartarus. The air felt less dense too, like he could fill his lungs up without choking. There was only a vague grey glow, as opposed to the blood red one Percy had become accustomed to. To his right, the River Styx gushed from the rocks and roared off in a cascade of rapids. To his left, far away in the gloom, fires burned on the ramparts of Erebos, the great black walls of Hades's kingdom.

Percy lifted his chin and scowled. Once, he had been scared of Hades' Kingdom. Now, he felt like levelling it down, clenching his fists.

 _It isn't his fault!_ A voice like Annabeth's cried out in his typhoon of tboughts, _he's just doing his job_!

"He let you die." Percy mumbled, beginning his walk.

 _He's the Lord of the Dead. It's what he has to do. And Poseidon couldn't have done anything either-_ Percy shut the voice off, closing his eyes and shaking his head; he was grieving too much to think about that. He'd deal with it later.

He walked down the beach toward the big black gates, sticking in the shadows. Lines of the dead stood outside waiting to get in. It must've been a heavy day for funerals, because even the EZ-DEATH line was backed up. Percy scanned it furiously from behind a rock. Brown hair, black hair, no hair, red hair, red hair but this time it's blood, blonde hair. But it wasn't the same shade. More blonde hair. But it was straight. Another blonde. But this one had streaks of brown. None of them were Annabeth.

Cerberus, the half transparent guard dog of Hades, appeared out of the gloom. They locked stares.

"Back, boy." Percy said, not looking away.

Cerberus gave a low growl, but Percy could see his eyes dart towards his shoulder. Cerberus breathed out heavily, almost like a huff, and slowly melted back into the dark.

He slipped past the security ghouls and into the Fields of Asphodel. Percy hiked over black fields of grass dotted with black poplar trees, ignoring everything around him, only having tunnel vision to Hades' Palace.

The enormous palace, made of glittering black obsidian, with a black marble portico, loomed closer and closer. Percy knew it was guarded by the skeletons of dead soldiers from different wars, and tried to avoid them all as best he could.

As soon as he got through the gates, where there were no more soldier skeletons, a massive shape flew down in front of him.

"Jackson!" Hissed the Fury Alecto.

Percy drew his sword slowly.

"I'm visiting Hades. I've got a favour to ask him." Percy told her. "Go away."

Alecto screamed at him.

"How dare you? Honey, I will have your head-!"

With a jump into the air, and a kick to the face, Percy knocked Alecto back with enough force so that when he span back round, arm outstretched, landing fluidly on his feet, she couldn't move before he sliced through her hand, her claws falling to the ground. She opened her twisting mouth to screech but no sound came out, as Percy ran through her torso with his sword. A cloud of gold dust floated across his face as he walked through it.

He crouched down, and picked up the claws. They were about half a foot long, deadly sharp at the end, smooth at the base.

Turning to the tall black wall that separated the outside from the garden, Percy blew a breath out through his nose. Alecto was part of the security, but luckily she hadn't been too loud, and hadn't attracted attention. No one knew he was here yet.

Percy tucked his sword back into his ragged jeans. Taking a firmer hold on each claw, one in each hand, Percy pulled his arm back and slammed one into the stone, just above his head. He put pressure on it, and nodded grimly to himself when it stuck.

Percy raised the other, and, arm straining, lifted himself into the air by one arm, and smashed the other claw into the stone. Only when he was secure did he pull the other out, before digging it in above him.

Percy repeated this, each time climbing a little higher, grunting deeply, his feet pushing against the wall for some kind of support, biceps hard and clenched. Percy feared the tips would snap off.

The wall itself was sixty feet tall. When he got to the top, he tried not to look down. Percy pocketed the claws. As he sat, he tried to think of the best way to get down, observing Persephone's garden.

It was still as strange as he remembered. There were multi-colored mushrooms, poisonous scrubs, and weird luminous plants that grew without sunlight. There were also precious jewels that seemed to compensate the lack of flowers, such as clumps of raw diamonds and piles of rubies as big as his fist. In the corner was Medusa's garden, statues of petrified children, satyrs, and centaurs, standing here and there, all smiling grotesquely.

In the center of the garden was an orchard of pomegranate trees, their orange blossoms neon bright in the gloom, and the fruit had an overwhelmingly sweet tart smell.

He knew that the longer he was up there, the more chance he had of being seen. Percy scanned one final time.

There. A tree was growing close to the wall, only about 3 feet away. Percy stood up, wobbling precariously, and sneaked along the wall until he was right behind it.

Without hesitation, Percy leaned back and lunged, jumping as far as he could to reach the tree.

For a second he was airborne, falling smoothly through the air, and then a branch slammed into his chest, his arms hanging over it as he grappled to hold on. Tucking it under his armpits, Percy swallowed, before letting go again. He fell a few metres then hit another branch, this time only holding on with one hand. The process of dropping and catching himself was arduous, but before he knew it, his feet slammed onto soft grass.

A pair of thrones, one onyx and one silver, were firmly in his view. They were on top of the balcony; as Percy squinted, he could see movement in the room connecting to the balcony. Good. He was here.

Percy ducked behind a tree and caught his breath. Then, he stepped out, sneaking along the wall then cutting across the grass, trying to stay in the shade of the trees and tall plants, until he reached the side of the Palace.

He took out the claws again.

About fifty feet up, Percy started going sideways, sweat dripping down his temples. When he glanced round the edge of the wall, the balcony was just in sight. Percy caught a glimpse of the hem of Hades' robes flicking as he walked out of the room.

Percy kept going horizontally, the claws slowly chipping at the sides as he forced them into the black stone.

A shadow crawled over his face as the balcony loomed above him. Percy climbed higher and higher until the edge was just above his head-

Suddenly, the claw in his left hand _split_.

Percy grunted as he was forced to let go, the shards still protruding from the stone, but too small to grip on to. Percy dangled by one hand, the scene annoyingly familiar, but, letting out a deep groan through gritted teeth, he pulled himself up with one hand, the other flailing madly in the air until he finally gripped the edges of the balcony.

His chest strained for a few brief seconds, arms taught and bulging, before he had to let go of the last claw, hand snapping to join the other. He grasped the bars of the balcony and hoisted himself up, blood rushing back into his arms as he sat against the wall.

Percy breathed out for a few seconds.

 _No_. He was here for a reason. He didn't have time.

Percy stood up, hands resting on the wall for balance, waiting for either blessing to kick in and ease the throbbing in his arms. He wandered into the middle of the room. Both thrones were empty.

Percy sucked in a breath.

"Hades!" He bellowed. "Get your ass out here! _Hades_!"

The room flashed black for a second.

"Who _dares_?" Spat a cruel voice.

Percy span around.

On top of both thrones now sat Hades, staring at him with a scowl, and Persephone, who was frowning at him. Around them, several skeletal soldiers had their swords bared, and there were hellhounds dotted among them.

"Jackson?" Hades seemed actually surprised. "You're supposed to be in Tartarus."

"How did you even get in here?" Persephone asked him.

"I-" Percy began to launch into his argument, but Hades had had a thoughtful look in his eyes for the past few seconds, and now held up a hand.

"I know what you're here for." Hades said quietly, effectively silencing the room.

Percy looked him in the eye.

"Then you know what I need." He replies bluntly.

"No."

Percy's eyes burst with a hurricane of rage.

"I need her."

Persephone put a hand over her mouth.

"The daughter of Athena?" She asked her husband, who nodded.

"The girl he was in love with, and wants back." Hades gestured towards Percy.

"She needs to come back! If anyone deserves it, it's her!" Percy felt tears brew in his eyes, inwardly horrified that he was almost crying in front of the King and Queen of the Underworld.

"Many believe their loved ones are good enough to come back. Death is what it is: death. The end. You have to let go." Hades explained, watching Percy warily.

"You let Orpheaus have Eurydice back! Or at least you gave him the opportunity."

"Orpheaus sang a beautiful song, played the lute with skill to rival Apollo himself. It made the furies cry. The furies. Everybody wants their love back, what do you two have that differentiates you from the rest?" Persephone leaned forwards.

Percy spluttered with anger.

"We've been best friends since we were twelve! I- I gave up _immortality_ for her! She was the _only_ one who knew where my mortal point was the first time! We've saved each other more times than I remember, she took a _knife_ for me in the second titan war, after she kissed me, I blew up a mountain!"

Percy continued in a lower voice.

"After Hera wiped my memory, the Queen of the Gods, I could still remember _her_ name. I couldn't remember my _own_ but I knew hers! The first time I told her I loved her was when I was hanging off the edge to Tartarus, after cutting the string that was pulling her down. I fell into Tartarus for _her_! And I'd do it over and over again for the rest of my life!"

Percy couldn't control his anger as it sparked up again.

"She doesn't deserve this! She was the only thing that kept me going down there. And you- you have _no idea_ , no idea at all, what it's like down there. I need her. Or so help me I will abandon the prophecy and Gaia can destroy the world for all I care!"

Persephone was watching him with sad eyes and turned to face her husband.

Hades observed him.

"You got to say 'I love you' before she died, that's more than most young couples get." Hades said.

" _I don't care!_ I want to tell her every day for the rest of her life! I want her to know that it wasn't a 'if we never see each other again, I love you', that it was always there, I always loved her, it was just the first time I said it out loud. I want her to know I mean it. And that I'll always mean it."

Persephone sniffled.

"You reminded me of Orpheaus the first time we met. So brave, so sacrificing. And now both have walked through the Underworld for those they love. And now you return, stronger and smarter and more in love than ever."

Persephone slid off her throne and walked over to him, sliding a hand over his cheek.

"That kind of love is rare, like a marigold in winter. Oppressed and beaten down by the frost, it struggles to grow, but once it blossoms, _oh_... it looks beautiful, standing out from the white snow, resilient and so precious..." Persephone had teared up by the end of her speech.

"Orpheaus and Eurydice had a love that bloomed like a coveted bonsai, but you and this girl, you possess a love of the largest blossom trees."

As Percy's tear dripped off his chin, a flower growing up through the cracks in the stone caught it.

"Persephone?" Hades said quietly.

Persephone turned around.

"Just this once." She said.

"You said that the last time!" Hades protested.

"I mean this, Hades!" Persephone said.

"He is my brother's spawn, I cannot-"

"Please." Percy spoke up, and both immortals snapped to him. " _Please_. I'll do anything."

He hated begging; but he'd do anything for Annabeth.

Hades watched him for a few seconds.

"Your Achilles blessing." He said eventually. "Get rid of it. It makes you too powerful, and frankly, Poseidon gloats far too much."

"And you'll bring back Annabeth?" Percy asked, an anxious hope springing up in him.

"No." Replied Hades.

"Then _what_?" Percy shouted, nerves on edge, as more tears slid down his cheeks, his emotions too much.

"You will get what Orpheaus got. You get to the surface without looking back, she's yours. But Orpheaus got this for free. You won't."

"Why?" Persephone asked him, not rebelliously, just curiously.

Hades locked eyes with Percy.

"I don't like him. My son became bitter because of him. My daughter died because of him."

"I was just a _kid_ , I tried-" Percy growled. "You don't get to heap that on me, it took years to get rid of that guilt. I didn't kill your daughter. She died a hero's death: she was braver than you will _ever_ be!"

Percy cursed himself after he finished, terrified that Hades would revoke their deal, but the King of the Underworld didn't move a muscle.

"She _was_ brave." Hades said, almost softly, before his tone turned hard and cold once more. "My demands don't change. You will give up your Achilles blessing. I would add that fancy tattoo in the mix, but I'd rather not have a Primordial knocking down my door looking for her chosen one."

"Deal." Percy said without hesitation.

Hades stepped forwards, closer.

"Your sword too, the bronze one, but I want that if you get out. Dip it in the Lethe while you're there."

"Okay... " Percy said slowly. "I give up my blessing, and I give you my sword once I get out of the underworld, and if I don't look back, Annabeth is alive." He extended his arm to shake hands with Hades.

Hades reached out for his arm, taking it, but not letting go. He smiled sickly.

"Not quite."

Percy narrowed his eyes.

"You give up the blessing. You give me your sword if you get out. But it will not be the Underworld. The Underworld was a challenge for Orpheaus. You can do better. Recovering a loved one is something you have to earn. And the Lethe is something I cannot control. We shall meet in Epirus if you get out."

Hades shook Percy's hand slowly.

"We shall meet if you get out of _Tartarus_."

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Whew. This may be a little confusing so basically: Percy wants Annabeth back, the same way Orpheaus got Eurydice back, but the Underworld is too easy for him to get through, so Hades wants him to go through Tartarus again, dipping his sword in the Lethe while he's there, then give him the sword if he gets out. It'll be explained more in the next chapter.**

 **For those who don't want Percy to be in Tartarus again, please stick with it, it was always gonna be this way, and I promise I got some good stuff that's gonna happen.**


	33. Percy XXI

**Well shit, I didn't realise how crappy a writer I was, thanks to those people who were lovely enough to point it out. Just what a kid needs in the morning, especially after writing out an extra long chapter just for my lovely readers.**

 **Here's your new shorter chapter or whatever, who cares.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 33

Percy XXI

"Are you _insane_?"

Percy shouted, yanking his hand back from Hades' tight grasp, before shoving the God of Death against a wall with a crack.

Hades choked a bit at the impact before he scowled, and rolled his eyes.

"No." He said, "I'm not insane. The Underworld's too easy for you. A loved one has to be earned." He pressed, repeating it slowly.

"Why-?"

"Am I doing this?" Hades finished for him. "If I'm honest, I want you down there to do a quick errand. When I say 'go through it', I'm not talking about the whole of it. A fraction. A very small, very specific area. And it has to be you. No one else is stupid and good with a sword enough to do it. And now I know it's vaguely survivable."

Percy ran a hand through his hair, letting go, as Hades pushed off the wall.

"It's... It's not! You're crazy!" He said again, looking around in disbelief. "I-I just got out! I can't go back in! That's- No- I- You- you-"

"Oh, relax." Hades told him, walking over to a dresser. "You won't be in there for long. I'll ask Thanatos to place the doors close by, not too far away. You get in, you sidetrack to the lethe, do the job I gave you, you get out."

"And I can't look back the entire time?" Percy said, shaking his head.

Hades paused and tilted his head to the side.

"Perhaps...?"

"No." Persephone cut in. "Darling, you're making him walk into Tartarus, let the boy have spatial awareness at least."

Hades turned around and nodded to his wife. "What she said, then." He told Percy.

Percy still couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"No-no we- we make a different deal-" Percy cut-through the air with his hand.

"This is the only deal I am willing to make. Go home if you don't like it, Jackson. Let your girlfriend enjoy Elysium and move on." Hades snapped.

Percy felt torn, and his rage was starting to bubble back up. The hellhounds in the room started shuffling.

"I- I can't! Change it!" Percy began. " _Wait_... No- I'll... I'll go back in... But as soon as I'm in, you bring back Annabeth. I'm going back into Tartarus. Voluntarily. That's enough to bring her back straight away." He demanded.

Hades placed a hand on his chin. He spoke after a few minutes.

"I suppose. Yes. I can make that happen. Your girlfriend will come back, you go down. Yes..." Hades mused out loud. "Yes, it still works for me."

Percy's heart pounded through his chest as he nodded. Annabeth would come back. But he...

"Why do you want my sword in the Lethe? Isn't it in the Underworld too?"

Hades nodded.

"It is, but the effects are more watered down, weaker. The Lethe in Tartarus is much stronger, a single drop could make you begin to forget your own name. Speaking, of which-"

Hades lifted a finger into the air, effectively pausing their conversation, before spinning around and pulling open a drawer. He rummaged for a minute or two, Percy's pulse thrumming in his ears. Eventually Hades whipped back round.

"Got it." He smiled, holding up a small glass vial, containing a transparent liquid.

"Pure Tiber water. Please-" Hades gestured to the spot in front of him.

Percy stared at him for a beat. Then he stepped forwards.

"Mortal point?" Hades asked, casually, as if he couldn't care less.

Percy narrowed his eyes. "You don't need to know that for this." He told him.

Hades held up his hands in mock defence. "Can't blame a guy for curiousity. Knowing you, you'll probably get it for a third time- if you live that long- and it would be nice to know where I would have to aim, should we fall on different sides."

Percy felt a dark scowl tug on his face.

"Get on with it, Hades." He growled.

The smile dropped right off Hades' face, and he quickly tipped the vial over Percy, the river water trickling down his face and down his back.

Percy felt the curse leave him. It was like taking off armour. He felt lighter, but very vulnerable, his hands coming up to rub at his arms. He was suddenly reminded of how little clothes he was wearing. Judging by the way Persephone was watching the water trail down his stomach, she was too.

Hades put a hand on Percy's shoulder. Then he flicked a finger, a blade shooting out his sleeve. Percy smacked his arm away, his sword ending up at Hades' throat.

"So jumpy." Hades sneered. "Just checking to see if it was truly gone."

Percy brought the tip of his sword to his finger and pressed down, a bead of blood rippling up. He held it up so Hades could see it, and it began an elegant curve down his finger. Hades observed it before nodding his head once, satisfied.

"Good enough for me. Ready?"

"How do I know you won't just leave me down there?" Percy stopped him.

"Oh Jackson we both know you'd make it out on your own anyway."

"You didn't answer my question."

"You're in the prophecy to stop the end of the world. I happen to live in the world. Just perhaps I'll keep you alive. Let's go."

The air rippled around them for a few seconds, Percy vaguely feeling that it was shadow travel before it all came back into focus. He coughed into his shoulder, before glancing up and around. Then down.

He recoiled instantly.

They were at the edge of Tartarus, where Kronos had called to him in his dreams, where Grover's flying shoes had tried to flip him over the edge.

Percy swallowed. Hades was watching him closely.

Percy clenched his hands tightly, which did not shake before but seemed to now. The air was different, he could smell the change. It was warmer, a distinct tang humming through it. The smell of blood. He hadn't recognised it before, but now he couldn't ever forget it.

Percy took another step back involuntarily, his body working on reflex.

"Backing out? That's not the Jackson I know." Hades raised his eyebrows.

" _Shut it."_ Percy snapped. "I'm going. Just- just give me a minute."

He knew he wouldn't make the jump without help. He knelt to the floor, wincing as his knees scraped the pointy floor. Gods, he hadn't missed the small pains that came without the curse.

Palms flat out, he pulled on whatever river source he could find. The one closest... The feeling was warm. Very warm. The phlegthon. It would do. He breathed out heavily through his mouth, keeping the river a couple hundred metres or so below the surface. It would find him. It would catch him. He'd be okay, it would all be okay.

"What are you doing?" Came Hades' voice, a genuine look of confusion on his face.

"Making sure I don't splat." Percy replied grimly. "How will I know where the doors are?"

"Oh that's simple, all the monsters will be going towards them. Follow them, try not to draw too much attention, you're good."

"The lift?" Percy confessed a heavy thought on his mind.

"We can bypass that whole charade. You get in the doors, doesn't matter if no one is holding the button, Thanatos will take it from there. He'll get you up."

"Why didn't he before?"

"Identity crisis. What's with all the questions? Stalling for time?" Hades questioned sarcastically.

"No." Percy lied. "Not at all."

"Then go."

Percy tore his eyes away from Hades, forced himself to stare deeply into the pit. He couldn't-

He took a step forwards.

His heart wasn't racing in his chest, it was exploding, taking his stomach with it, a hollowness spreading up his throat.

"Tell Annabeth it was worth it." He threw over his shoulder, before stepping over the ledge.

Then he was plummeting down...

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **I'm at 500 reviews.**

 **Okay so I wrote the top author's note straight after all the negative reviews, so that's why it's a bit sharp and bitchy. I've had time to think on them, and I am over it. I'll update a bit faster now, I hope**.


	34. Aphrodite

**Thanks guys, my motivation is well up right now. Almost as high as my procrastination, I'm supposed to be doing a maths paper right now, but I literally can't.**

 **How were all your Christmases? Or what did you do during the holiday break, for non christmas celebrating peeps? Personally, I ate dip and watched four seasons of the vampire diaries in like two weeks.**

 **Some of yall wanted a God POV. It may not be the one you wanted, but it's a POV I've wanted to write for a while.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 34

Aphrodite I

Demeter handed her another tissue, which Aphrodite took gratefully, blowing her nose without a sound.

She couldn't help her mood; the sheer amount of heartbreak around her was clogging up her lungs. For that girl Annabeth. Her friends were grieving, the closest ones (the remaining seven and a few others) and of course, Percy's. As soon as he had found out, it was like she had been struck by Zeus' master bolt. They had cried in sync.

His level of heartbreak was dangerous; she had felt horrible heartbreak before, but rarely this badly. It was the type where they would do anything to have their significant other back. She worried for Percy.

She leant in closer to the fire Hestia had started for the Gods. There were more dotted about across the stretch of land, demigods huddled round, lighter plumes of smoke billowing into the dark sky.

Aphrodite turned her head to watch Poseidon, who was staring deeply into the flames. A dark gold colour was spreading across the bridge of his nose like a bruise.

"That's odd." Aphrodite said, gesturing to it.

Poseidon rubbed it with a calloused hand absently, finally tearing his eyes away from the fire to look at her.

"I should heal it soon." He told her.

"But you haven't." Aphrodite cocked her head to the side, ginger curls swaying over her shoulder. "Why?"

Poseidon shrugged.

"You feel like you deserve it?" Athena spoke up a little way across from them, sat on a log.

Most of the Olympians had gone quiet, Hera and Zeus bickering loudly in the corner still.

Poseidon closed his eyes tiredly.

"Well, maybe? Yeah. I guess. I just- he was right, I could have done something, but I was just so weak, you know?" Poseidon tried to explain.

Apollo tilted his head, his eyes the same golden as the sparks of the flames. "We were all weak. There wasn't much we could have done."

"But I had enough strength to have saved her life." Poseidon insisted.

Athena regarded him coolly.

"You put yourself on a pedestal. If anyone was to have saved her, it would have been me. She was one of my children, after all." Athena dismissed him.

They sat quietly for another few seconds before-

"He hates me." Poseidon whispered.

Aphrodite patted him on the back. They all knew who he was talking about.

"He's upset. His girlfriend is dead, and she drowned in not just his father's element, but his element. Obviously he blames himself." Athena said.

"He will get over it." Artemis joined in.

"No, he won't. I know Percy, and I know Hades. It'll end up with Hades trying to smite Percy, because he won't give up." Poseidon shook his head.

"What if Jackson does it?" Dionysus asked.

"Doubtful." Aphrodite said. "After Orpheaus, the poor heartbroken lad, and the way it got all written down, he'd probably never give anyone that chance again. It gave him a bad rep."

After a while, Zeus spoke.

"Now that one of the seven is dead, and another one is probably about to be, how does this affect the prophecy?" He addressed Apollo, who shook his head.

"No idea. The prophecy only had four lines, anything in-between them can be as ambiguous as the fates want."

"Will there be a funeral?" Poseidon asked.

Hera scoffed.

"What's the point? She's been dead for a long time now, there's nothing more to say."

Aphrodite noticed a frown on Poseidon's face.

"They say we don't care a lot, don't they?" He said out of the blue.

"So?" Ares replied.

"They're right. I mean, they're all sat out there grieving for their friend, and her mother is sat right there, doing nothing." Poseidon gestured towards Athena, who glared.

"You forget what it is like to have many children, Poseidon. You only have one of your spawn running around. You know him. I have many children, Poseidon. Annabeth was my favourite, but there will always be more. There's not much to cry about." Athena said.

Artemis had scrunched up her nose.

"It's that kind of attitude that pushes your daughters to join the hunt. I care for them far more than their godly parents, even if it isn't much, I at least know their names."

"Is this not what caused the demigods to go to the other side in the last war?" Poseidon asked angrily.

Ah. Now Aphrodite got it.

"You're worried that this will push Perseus to switch sides?" She asked.

Every God went silent.

"He wouldn't dare!" Zeus exclaimed.

"That's not Percy." Apollo agreed.

"He's very loyal to those he cares for." Hermes said passionately.

"But does he truly care for any of us?" Athena asked quietly.

Aphrodite drew her eyebrows together, deep brown eyes the picture of concentration. She tried to figure out the mess of feelings she could sense from Perseus.

"He feels some father-son loyalty to you," She pointed to Poseidon, who smiled weakly. "Perseus seems to be on your side most of all. It hasn't changed since he found out the girl died. It's just surface anger at you. His anger for himself and Gaia runs deeper."

She turned to Athena. "He doesn't really like you but he knows you are fair, and he has some partial loyalty through Annabeth."

Athena made a non committal sound and looked away.

"The rest of you have varying degrees of loyalty, Hera least of all. I think he would defend you, perhaps, but he certainly doesn't like you at all."

Hera hmphed and leant on her husband, who was staring at Aphrodite with piercing blue eyes.

"You're certain he won't change sides?"

Aphrodite nodded. "He's loyal, but also more powerful though now, which could be used by others."

Athena and Zeus launched into another debate about Perseus and Nyx. Aphrodite zoned them out, it was too boring to listen to. She, of course, knew tattoos were attractive on some people, but Perseus' new tattoo was something else...

Suddenly she was cut off.

Aphrodite blinked a few times.

"What is it?" Ares asked her.

"It's Perseus, he's- he's gone?"

"What?" Poseidon exclaimed.

"I'm not sure, the connection just cut off? He was in the underworld, the connection was weak but it was there. Now, it's just... Poof. Gone."

"He's not dead." Poseidon shook his head. "I can feel that he's still alive, I know he is."

Then where was he? Aphrodite bit her lip. The only other place... But he wouldn't. Oh. But he would. Dammit, Hades!

She caught Athena's eyes over the fire. The other Gods had moved on to their other conversations, or to go to sleep and recharge themselves. Athena's eyes were wide, and her eyebrows were way up. She had come to the same conclusion. Aphrodite shook her head. The others didn't need to know.

Perseus was certainly an enigma. He had walked through it all and had come back relatively unscathed. Well, apart from a few injuries. Pretty nasty ones by the look of it. And there would have to be some PTSD, she could see it in his eyes. Okay, so definitely not unscathed. But still...she knew love better than anyone, but to have someone go to hell and below twice for them? She whistled. That was the rarest of the rare. She felt a brief spark of jealousy, that she squashed by turning over and burying her head in Ares' thick arms.

He wrapped one round her securely, and she spent a long time just tracing out his tattoos with her finger in the moonlight. They couldn't wait here for much longer, everything couldn't be put on hold because two of their leaders were missing/dead. Not just for the sake of the world but for their sanity too.

She hoped Perseus would be successful in his mission. There needed to be more love in the world right now. And she had a feeling that the love between those two demigods wasn't over yet. Something else had to happen first.

Hey, she always said that she'd make their love life interesting.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Yo guys, ignore my top AN. That was when I had motivation. That fell apart pretty quickly. School is just pressure pressure pressure right now. And they stuck me in maths intervention, despite the fact that I'm actually pretty decent at maths. I'm in the top quarter at least smh. I've had like 4 breakdowns.**

 **I kinda wanna delete my other stories, SotP and PotP, I wrote them when I was new a couple years ago and I didn't really know how to write. Idk they make me cringe. Opinions?**


	35. Percy XXII

**Yo Yo Yo, ya boi is back and she's literally about to fail all her classes cuz she gets home and sleeps instead of revising. She has also come first in English for 5 weeks in a row! She may not know much about electrical circuits, but damn if she ain't good at writing.**

 **Bit short but the next one is gonna be way longer.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 35

Percy (jeez what are we on now?) XXII

The water caught him before he registered the falling sensation; he didn't want to go through all that again. Percy let the water envelop him and lower him swiftly down. In the cool bubble he had constructed, Percy began to think.

The Lethe. Gods, where was it? Oh yeah right- it was near those spiky red rocks. Like those weren't common. Percy wracked his brain. Near the phlegthon? He shook his head, rubbing a hand over his eyes, and reached down to take out his swords.

His hand went into his pocket, and grazed an object that wasn't there before.

It was small. Oblong. A type of flimsy plastic that heated up in his hand, a flare of power.

Hurtling at inhumane speeds in an air bubble, in the pitch black darkness, Percy withdrew a pen.

Percy breathed out, and fumbled to uncap it.

The light of Riptide filled the small space, a burning glow that rivalled fire itself, the bronze singing a melody in Percy's mind.

Riptide must have returned to him when he got out.

Percy choked out a half-wheeze half-chuckle, weighing it in his hand, perfectly balanced. Gods, he had been fighting with his other unbalanced swords for so long that he had almost forgotten what it was like.

Light flooded around the outside of his column of water, the dark red he had grown to loathe fiercely. He dropped even further, slowing his pace as best he could. Percy turned and looked down through the churning water keeping him aloft.

Percy narrowed his eyes.

Below, there seemed to be a small group of monsters surrounding the area where the water rose into the air, crowding round it as if they had never seen something like that before. As he got closer, heads shot up, fingers/claws pointing his way. Some ran away, others choosing to stay in the safety of numbers.

A couple of metres from the ground, Percy burst out, his knees taking the impact and rolling into a crouch, the monsters stumbling in their attempt to back away from him. Pain flared up his legs, no serious damage done, but it still startled Percy, who had felt nothing but dull impacts for a long time. Right- the curse was gone. He would have to be more careful.

Because he needed to get back. Last time, he had no idea what was going on above him, no clue if they were safe, or even alive. Rage briefly burned in him, before he pushed it down. No, Hades said he would bring her back.

He knew time moved differently, maybe she was already back and waiting for him. No, no, that didn't sound right- this was Annabeth. She was kicking ass and taking names, as well as waiting for him. So he needed to get back even faster this time. She was waiting, and Percy could never disappoint her.

The monsters surrounded him.

He strapped his bronze and his bone sword to what remained of his trouser waistband (he knew he should have picked up some new clothes while he was up there), not breaking eye contact with the one that seemed to be the leader, and held Riptide out in front of him. He sliced it through the air a couple times. Just to make sure it still worked. And also for the look of fear that shattered across the monsters' faces.

"You- you escaped! You're not meant to be here!" Said one monster.

"Yeah, I thought that too." Percy said grimly. "The things you do for love." He added, as they circled him.

He knew when they were about to attack when he saw them lean forwards, and braced himself.

They charged him all at once. Percy let them get close- then slid between the legs of one, spinning round with an upwards slice, using the force to jerk to the side, arm outstretched with a slash through the air, gold dust poofing in clouds around him.

Similar to when he had the curse of achilles, Percy felt a laugh bubble up, but it was nothing to do with the violence, it was the familiarity of Riptide forming his moves. With his other swords, he had worked out a pattern with them individually that suited their weights, but Riptide... It had so many memories with it, that everything came instinctually.

He kicked one of the last two in the chest forcefully, sending it head over heels, while running the other through.

Panting, Percy stepped forwards to tower over the other one on the floor, who was propelling itself back like the thing from the Exorcist. The dracaenae spluttered as Percy drew closer, before pointing wildly in Percy's direction.

"It's- The- I- Don't-"

Percy held Riptide high before plunging it down, cutting off the stammering.

Percy stepped back, pushing his dark hair out his eyes. It really was getting too long.

"Jackson?" Asked a deep voice behind him, thick and low.

Percy span around, spinning Riptide in his fingers with skill, but it was too late.

Two huge figures loomed close to him, before something impacted the side of his head, and everything went black.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Oohlala I just bought my prom dress. It's size 6 and backless and I look damn good in it. Is it true you have a size 0 in America? But- but if it's 0, then it's nothing? That's confusion, my good dudes. Is it considered unhealthy?**

 **I listened to yall's advice, and yeah I'm not too sure about deleting those stories, I might just merge them into one fic and leave them at the bottom.**


	36. Percy XXIII

**I'm on holiday soon, a whole week! My friends and I are having a sleepover on Valentines day (sounds a bit sad but seeing as I'm in love with one of them, it's great for me), what are yall doing?**

 **Lmao take a shot every time someone says 'reading fanfiction alone in bed'.**

 **Er this chapter is a bit dark, I tried to do jumps in the violence but- yeah just read it you'll understand.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 36

Percy XXIII

He registered the throbbing in his head first, thick and spreading across the back of his skull. It filled his eyes, tempting him to fall back under, but Percy let them flutter open heavily, scrunching them up to alleviate the pressure. It had been a nasty blow to the head, and a cowardly move, to attack from behind. Sure, Percy had done to others before, but they were nameless monsters. Whoever it was had said his name. And he could swear he had heard that voice before...

Percy lifted his head, tilting to the side to get his filthy hair out his face, and looked around. He was in some sort of.. . _cave_? There was a hot fire burning in the corner, the flickering light in the dark briefly showing Percy where he was. Dusty red rocks covered the majority of his view. But just round the corner to his right, Percy could see the telltale light of outside. To his left was just an uneven wall.

Percy squinted and attempted to stand up from where he was sprawled on the floor. His wrists tugged him back.

Percy craned his neck round, swearing under his breath when he caught sight of the thick manacles on his wrists, the other side of the chain embedded into the rock behind him.

"Great. Just great..." Percy continued to curse, slowly turning his body round until he was facing the wall, two feet on either side of the chain.

Percy wound his wrists round the chain and, shuffling his back until it was in a place with slightly more traction, leant back and pulled as hard as he could, pressing his feet against the wall.

"Hnnnggh!" Percy clamped his teeth down hard as he strained.

His biceps were taut and corded, clouds of dust tumbling down, but Percy could see that they were far too deeply stuck to be removed by him yanking on them.

Fine, next step: the locks.

He edged his way round again to face the other way. Did he have anything to pick the lock with? Riptide wouldn't fit in it, and he didn't have enough space to slice through the chains. If he was honest, Percy didn't even know if he could reach it. Actually, he didn't know if it was even there. He couldn't feel it in his pocket.

Percy shook his head. He was getting off topic, and he didn't have time for stuff like this.

"Hey!" Percy shouted. "Oi!"

He wasn't going to wait there and starve to death, they should at least have the decency to actually tell him that they were gonna kill him. Else it was just rude.

"Do you want me to start singing or what?" Percy shouted, wracking his brains for a song annoying enough to drive whoever it was crazy.

He had just settled on a nursery rhyme his mother had sang for him a few times when he was young, when the external light began to dim; something was coming. The heavy footsteps made the tiny stones jump around him.

Percy backed up a little, pressing his back up against the wall, should he need to push himself off for an attack. He frowned slightly- he was either facing a monster with more than two legs, or more than one monster.

A huge black shape rounded the corner.

It was Krios.

Percy glared. He thought that he'd killed him in the blast after- after Damasen was killed. Behind him was one similar in size; he had to squint to recognise him. It was another titan... Koios? What was he doing here?

"Evening, fellas." Percy said, as casually as he could, considering that he was chained up, in a cave, in Tartarus, with two titans. Who hated him.

Had he missed anything?

Percy reached out in his mind, searching for any water nearby. But he hit a block; there was nothing there? What was going on?

"How the mighty have fallen..." Krios snarled, coming to stand next to him.

Koios followed, and they both towered over him. Percy tried his best not to look intimidated, but his mind had just taken the annoying liberty to remind him that his skin was no longer impenetrable. He tilted his head until it rested on the stone behind.

"Got any reason for me to be here?" He asked dryly.

"Mother wants you, now more than ever." Koios growled, his voice even lower than Krios's. "Who are we to deny her?"

Koios looked to be about 20 feet tall, his head brushing the top of the cave, with elaborate black stygian iron armor and a single diamond blazing in the breastplate. His eyes were blue-white and as cold as a glacier, the same colour as his hair and beard, with his hair cut in military style. By his side, clutched in a massive hand, was a sword the size of a surfboard, which radiated more cold than Hubbard Glacier.

His once handsome face was covered in scars. Percy had never met Koios before, but he knew he was the titan of intelligence. Percy watched him carefully; if anyone was a wild card here, it was Koios. Krios, while he looked angry, was merely watching his older brother.

"You can't escape." Krios said dryly. "Those chains were built by Hephaestus to contain titans. It'll block off your powers."

Right. That was why he couldn't reach anything. Percy allowed a small trickle of panic to wash over him.

"I heard your name once, a while ago." Koios sat down slowly, opposite Percy. Krios did the same, poking the fire with his finger.

"I'm guessing it wasn't in a compliment." Percy replied.

"They said you had defeated my brother. Gave control back to those Gods."

"Kronos had been defeated long before I got there. His host didn't want violence, just justice. Kronos was destined to fall eventually." Percy said, thoughts of Luke whirling in his mind.

"You were the one prophesied to defeat him, though." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah, I was." Percy replied cautiously. This was old news. What was he getting at?

Koios nodded slowly, running a calloused hand through his beard. He had the same cold eyes as Artemis.

"You are in yet another prophecy too, are you not?" Koios asked him.

"Yeah." Percy answered. "Look can we get to the point? I got places to be and none of them involve either of you."

Koios chuckled darkly. "One more question. Was it you who cut the chains on the doors of death?" He asked, emotionless.

Percy kept eye contact with him.

"It was-'' Krios interrupted, but Koios waved him off.

"I want him to say it." Koios leaned forwards.

Percy straightened his back. "Yeah, it was me."

A dagger smashed into the rock, right by his face, sending chunks of stone over him. Percy blinked dust out of his eyes, but then there was a hand in his hair, wrenching his head back.

"Do you know how _long_ I've been in here?" Koios bellowed, his eyes alight with a mad rage. "Kronos was supposed to get me out the first time! Then some _boy_ got the better of him! So mother set up a way for us to get out! And _that- same- boy- stopped it!_ ''

He punctuated each word by slamming a fist into the wall, but on the last word, he swung at Percy.

Percy took the punch across the face, wincing as he felt his lip split instantly. Koios grabbed him by his arms and lifted him in the air, manacles stretching until they dug into his wrists, pinning him to the wall, fist pulled back again.

Some time later, Koios let him drop.

Percy crumpled, his hand stopping him from falling completely. He didn't want to imagine how much blood covered him, instead focused as hard as he could on staying conscious. Krios, who had done nothing to stop Koios, was watching him with a very satisfied expression. Koios had a filthy rag in one hand, cleaning his splattered knuckles.

Percy spat out a mouthful of blood, each breath sending a twinge to his bruised stomach.

"N-nothing personal then." He croaked, leaning back, infusing as much sarcasm as he could muster.

Koios looked at him sharply.

"Do you want me to beat you _again_ , boy?" He hissed.

He spoke kind of like a medieval Lord.

"Not particularly." Percy said, chains clinking as he reached up to prod at his now definitely not straight nose.

"Then keep it shut. We know how you manipulate. You turned Iapetus, believe me when I say that that won't happen again."

"Brother, all mother needs is his blood. Perhaps we could-" Krios started.

"I've considered that option, yes. Take his blood, then just kill him. As a backup, yes I think we should, but there's still the question on how to get it to her."

Percy watched closely. Koios wasn't what he expected. He was smarter than your average titan, for one, but a small plan was forming in Percy's head.

"-off his arms, sew up his mouth, cut out his eyes." Koios said casually.

Percy winced.

"I say we take his blood and just kill him now." Krios said. "He deserves death more than any other mortal I have met."

"It could be-"

" _Or_..." Percy cut him off, causing two angry glares to be sent his way. He held up his hands defensively. "Or, you could just let me go."

There was a beat, and then both titans roared with laughter.

"And- and why would we do that?" Krios chuckled, smacking a hand on his knee in mirth. He had the same smile as Apollo.

Percy's eyes darkened.

"You _will_ let me go. Unless you fancy a primordial coming down on your sorry hides." He angled his shoulder towards them.

Krios stopped laughing but Koios continued a low chortle. Percy kinda disliked how he had to bring up the whole Nyx thing to get them to listen to him, but he was honest when he said it was useful. He had already tried to shadow travel, but Percy didn't actually know how to. The last times had been fuelled with raw emotion, now... He just couldn't. Percy blamed the chains.

"I'll admit; I didn't see that coming." Koios chuckled, Krios smiling like there was an inside joke between them. Right- he was also the titan of prophecy. If it wasn't for the throbbing pain in his face, Percy would have joined in at the irony.

"Well now what to do?" Koios squatted by him, curling thick fingers around his arm. His tattoo leaked a small amount of smoke, suppressed by the chains, and Koios snatched his hand back. "Right." His tone went ugly.

"She can't help you if you're dead." Koios noted, almost absently.

His hand went down to rest on the hilt of his sword. Percy breathed out through his nose, a bubble of blood popping out a nostril.

"We'll take the blood now then." Koios withdrew his sword with a 'shink', and turned round.

"Whoa- whoa- whoa- wait- _wait_ \- I- I can get you out of here!" Percy protested, the sword tip stopping a centimetre from his eye.

"What?" Asked Krios.

"How so?" Koios didn't drop his sword.

Percy took a breath.

"I got out before. I'm only here again to bring my girlfriend back and to run an errand for Hades. He's got a way for me to get back. He said he'll get me out. I can convince him to take you too."

"Right. Hades will just let us back up, sure." Koios drawled, but Percy could see he was interested.

If Percy had been down here long enough, he'd be desperate to get out too. Percy used that to his advantage.

"The last time I got out, I took the Maeonian drakon with me. I could say that I pushed you in the lethe, that now you're fighting on our side." Percy had no intention of letting that happen, but c'mon the guy had a sword to his face. And he needed to get back to Annabeth. He'd work out the rest of the plan later.

Koios stared at him for several seconds. Percy tried to push his luck.

"I can get you to the surface. I won't help you once we're out, you're on your own, but there is a way to get out. But it will only work if I'm alive."

Koios huffed in amusement, shaking his head. All he said was:

"They said you were good."

Krios observed him closely. "He is telling the truth about the way out. But this is Jackson. He's the Gods' best weapon, there's no way he'd help us."

"Maybe I've had enough of the Gods." Percy said, his anger not entirely fake. "Maybe they were too busy laying around to stop people I love dying. Maybe I'm not as loyal as you think."

"Enough." Koios said quietly, as Krios opened his mouth to argue.

He let the point of the sword hover in front of Percy's face for a few more seconds.

"You..."

Koios lowered the sword quickly, cutting a thin red line in Percy's cheek. Percy winced but kept eye contact.

"Now... is not the time. There is more to be done. Come, brother." Koios turned on his heel and strode out of the cave.

Krios looked at Percy for a few more seconds.

"I can only take _one_ of you." Percy said to him quietly, now that Koios was out of earshot. One titan would be easier to deal with.

Krios didn't give any indication that he had heard him, choosing instead to kick dust and rocks over the fire until the cave was dark. Percy still had decent visibility thanks to his blessing, moving his legs as Krios followed after his brother silently.

Percy breathed out slowly, leaning down to wipe his bloody nose on his shoulder. He was gonna be here a while.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Ooh a long chapter.**

 **To the fella who wanted me to stop swearing, yeah yeah I can totally do that (what yall expected me to refuse and swear? Nah, that's just rude). I might do it without thinking so just let me know and I'll go back and edit it.**


	37. Hazel II

**MY SISTER'S GETTING MARRIED WHAHEY! I'm totes being head bridesmaid (or maid of honour or whatever it is). They've been dating for 8 years tbh it's about time.**

 **Without further ado, the chapter!**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 37

Hazel II

There was a meeting arranged for the morning: the Gods, all the leaders of the cohorts, the cabin leaders, praetors and the remaining seven. But Hazel knew that everyone else would be lurking and eavesdropping.

Hazel opened her eyes; it was just turning dawn, the sun was just filtering under the gaps of the tent. She had barely slept at all. They weren't on the Argo II, as a Greek boy had leant them a few tents, but Hazel didn't think it would make a difference whether she was in her bed or on the floor. She still would be restless.

As soon as Annabeth had- when she had- Hazel rubbed her nose- when she had _died_ , Hazel knew the fallout would be massive. She knew it would wreck Percy. And he already looked like he couldn't take any more. Hazel shook her head to get rid of the image of Percy, covered head to toe in his blood and gold dust, with black circles under his eyes as if he hadn't slept at all, a drakon towering behind him.

"Hazel?" Came a faint whisper to her right, so quiet she barely heard it. "Hazel, are you awake?"

Hazel shuffled to face the other side, coming face to face with a sleepy Frank.

"Yeah. I'm awake." She whispered back.

Both lifted their heads slightly to see if they'd woken Leo, but the boy was still snoring lightly, clutching some sort of pipe close to his chest. Hazel turned back to Frank.

"What time is it?" She asked, cuddling a blanket closer to her shoulders.

They may be in Greece, but the morning was still cooler than the afternoon, and the temperature difference inside and out caused drops of condensation to cling to the sides of the tent. Frank rubbed his hands together to warm them up slightly.

"I'm not too sure. Maybe six? Half six?"

"When's the meeting?"

"Eight, I think. Reyna said she wanted everyone to get a good amount of sleep so they can think clearly about what to do next."

Hazel reached up, and Frank covered her smaller hands with his own. Hazel smiled tiredly at him.

"What are we going to do?" She asked suddenly.

Frank furrowed his brow and sighed.

"I don't know. This is a prophecy of seven and we're- we're down to five. We have significantly less power without Percy, and I can't see any battle plans succeeding without Annabeth."

"No." Hazel shook her head. "No, we're down to six. Percy is alive. I- I don't know how, but he is, and- and every time I remember that I feel like crying, because he actually made it. He'll come back to us, he probably just needs time."

Frank squeezed her hands.

"I know he'll come back. This is Percy. But, back from where?"

"He said Hades. He's most likely gone to the Underworld."

"He wants to get Annabeth back." It wasn't a question.

"Don't we all?" Hazel felt her nose begin to sting, a sign she was about to cry, and huddled closer to Frank, pressing her forehead into his chest. His hand dropped to the back of her neck, holding her close. Hazel breathed in slowly. She wished they could stay this way forever.

"Do you think he'll do it?" Frank asked quietly above her.

Hazel understood.

"I want to say yes." She replied. "If anyone could do it, it would be him."

Hazel believed what she said. If all the stories she has been told were true, the Gods owed Percy and Annabeth most of all.

Hazel opened her mouth to say something but cut herself off. She wanted to ask Frank why he had gone so soon, but of course, he wanted to get her back as soon as possible. But Hazel couldn't help being a little sad. They had just got him back, and then he was gone again. Almost like he was never there in the first place. But she knew it was wrong to think that way. She was being selfish.

"I think it's probably early enough to get some breakfast." Hazel said instead, "There's probably some other kids awake out there."

She felt Frank nod, and reluctantly withdrew from his bear hug. She rolled over and sat up, stretching out the muscles in her back, before kicking off the blanket and reaching for her shoes.

When they were both dressed and had their shoes on, Frank pulled back the flap of their tent. They both glanced at Leo.

"Let him sleep." Hazel whispered, and stepped outside.

They were right; there were a few kids milling around the field, a street of tents stretching all around them. In the middle were the picnic benches that were there before, and Hazel could see and smell the smoke coming out from an awning.

They wandered over, Frank holding out his hand for her to take at some point. Hazel liked that; they always found a way to be close to each other.

Under the awning, there was indeed breakfast being cooked. At least three barbecues were on the go, and Hazel was very surprised to see Ceres (or Demeter) laying out bowls for a couple of demigods that had arrived as well.

"Come, come, breakfast is served! Most important meal of the day, don't you know? Have this bowl of cereal, it is the finest grain! Sets you up completely for the rest of the day." Demeter handed a bowl of cereal to Hazel, almost forcing the bowl into her hands.

"Oh- thank you." Hazel said, surprised, exchanging a look with Frank before he too had a bowl shoved into his hands.

They sat down at a bench, opposite each other. Hazel looked at her bowl, and glanced up at Frank.

"Do you think she knows we don't have spoons?" She whispered, seeing some of the other demigods look around, slightly panicked.

Frank shrugged. He reached forwards and took the bowl in both hands. Hazel raised her eyebrows, but mimicked his actions. She was hungry, after all.

They both lifted the bowls to their mouths and drank their cereal.

"Now that's the enthusiasm I want to see in today's cereal eating youth!'' Demeter exclaimed, smiling down at them.

Hazel giggled, wiping the milk away from her upper lip. They continued to drink their cereal, chatting with each other and occasionally with any demigods who sat by them, as more and more were coming out of their tents, the sun getting higher and warmer in the sky.

Eventually, Hazel saw Reyna striding between tents. She looked as if she had been up for a while too.

"Is it time?" She asked Frank.

Frank glanced at the watch of the demigod next to him and nodded.

"It's a few minutes to eight."

They placed their bowls on top of each other and pushed them down the table, before they stood up. There was a circle of fold out chairs in a small stretch of grass just to the left of all their tents. Hazel could see someone who vaguely resembled Apollo sat there, others milling behind him. Opposite, sat Nico, and a few cabin leaders. Reyna came into view as they got closer, resting her elbows on her knees. They sat down next to Nico, who gave his sister a nod.

After a few minutes, Jason, Piper and Leo arrived, which meant everyone was there. The Gods turned their attention to them, each sitting down in their customised camping chairs.

"Demigods, we are here to discuss the matter of the prophecy, and how to further it beyond this situation, with the loss of two of the prophecy." Jupiter- Zeus began, leaning forwards in his solid gold chair.

"One." Poseidon pointed out next to him.

"The whereabouts of Perseus is unknown." Zeus replied.

"No, we know he's gone to go talk to Hades." Poseidon said. "He'll come back."

"Regardless, he is not here now." Athena said. "Back to the matter at hand-''

But now the Gods were arguing between themselves, demigods too. Hazel frowned. She was about to speak up when a flash behind her caught her attention, sparks in her peripheral vision.

Everyone fell quiet instantly, and Hazel had to turn round as a figure walked up to them. He was tall, wearing black clothes, a silver sword at his side-

"Hades? What brings you here?"

Hazel gasped slightly. It was Pluto. Her father was here. Hades stopped behind her, before placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Hello Hazel," He said quietly, "Nico."

Hazel had no idea what to do.

"Hello." She said back faintly.

Hades nodded, almost uncomfortable but slightly happy, before turning back to Zeus.

"Looking for Perseus?" He asked.

Poseidon narrowed his eyes. "Hades, if my son is-"

Hades waved his hand. "I haven't harmed him. If anything, I helped him."

That caught their attention.

"Where is Perseus then?" Asked Hera curiously.

Heads went back and forth like a tennis match between the Gods.

"He is... doing me a favour." Hades replied slowly.

Hazel raised her eyebrows. It couldn't possibly mean...

"What _kind_ of favour?" Poseidon looked like he was about to flood the whole area.

"Nothing he hasn't done before."

"Hades, if my son is in danger-"

"Of course he's in danger." Hades cut him off. "Frankly it would be him if he wasn't, but- _but!_ " Hades raised his voice as Poseidon rose out of his seat. " _But_ , he accepted it. He knew what he had to do. It was the price to pay."

"What price?" Poseidon snapped, before he froze. "He _didn't_ -''

Hades nodded, and clicked his fingers.

Hazel gasped as Thanatos appeared. Hades turned to the demigods.

"One of you needs to go get her body." He added.

There were gasps from those who hadn't worked it out yet. Jason and Piper, who were nearest in the direction of the ship, jumped out up so quickly their seats fell over, and both sprinted as fast as they could towards the Argo II. Hazel's heart was pounding madly in her chest.

In all the chaos as the Gods began to chatter, Aphrodite crying again, Hazel barely even noticed Hades coming to sit by her. He shuffled slightly.

"I just want you to know, both of you," he said, glancing at Nico, who had turned around to face them, "that I am proud of both of you."

The last part came out slightly fast, but Hazel heard it loud and clear. However, while she was speechless, Nico narrowed his eyes.

"What is Percy doing?"

Hades looked at his son.

"He is helping me bless a sword. When it is bathed in the final blessing, it could possibly be the most powerful sword ever made." Hades answered, but Hazel felt as if his words were a little rehearsed.

Hazel thought on that heavily. How could a sword be that powerful? What blessings were there?

"This is the deal we made." Hades continued. "He knew the risks."

Hades nodded at his children again, before he looked up. Piper and Jason were returning quickly, a long roll of blanket in Jason's arms. Hazel could see Annabeth's waterlogged trainers sticking out the end and winced.

Jason paused at the edge. Thanatos gestured towards the middle of their circle, and Jason stepped forwards, placing her body on the grass gently, before backing up, clutching Piper's hand.

Hades stood, staring down grimly. Thanatos walked over to Annabeth's body.

He stopped above her. A glow began to emit from his torso, getting brighter and brighter until Hazel was forced to look away. When it dimmed down, she glanced back and her eyes widened.

In Thanatos's arms, lay Annabeth, like a glowing white ghost. Her eyes were shut, and she was transparent. Thanatos knelt to the ground, lining ghost Annabeth up with Annabeth's corpse.

He lowered her to the ground.

Thanatos stood back up, inclined his head towards Hades, then vanished with a blur of shadows. All eyes zeroed in on the figure on the floor as it twitched.

Grey hair began soaking up with golden colour, as if the sun was shining intensely on it. Hazel watched as pink flooded into Annabeth's skin, the water absorbed into her body draining out into the grass. Her clothes dried, no longer clinging to her. A rose blush climbed into her cheeks. Hazel could see the veins in her arms returning to a delicate blue.

The group watched in tense anticipation as her eyelids twitched.

They snapped open.

Hazel saw beautiful silver staring back at her.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **GUESS WHO'S BACK BACK AGAIN ANNIE'S BACK TELL A FRIEND**

 **I keep on meaning to do my dedications to the really nice reviewers. I made a list of usernames and then promptly lost it, which is great.**

 **Review! I only got about 8 reviews last chapter, where y'all at? You see a story with over a hundred reviews and think 'oh they probably just scan the reviews' but nah, they get delivered straight to my email. I read every single review I get. And I love em!**


	38. Percy XXIV

**This was gonna be a dual POV chapter but I realised it was too difficult to switch over so the next chapter is halfway done. When was the last dual POV? Chapter 1? Wow. Chapter one. Feels like ages ago. It was like 1am and I had this idea so I banged out a chapter, thought up a random name that was highkey a pun and posted it. Got like 6 reviews straight after, well chuffed. How time flies, eh lads?**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 38

Percy XXIV

Percy watched the back of Koios retreat out of the cave, a blood bubble welling up and bursting in his nostril. How he loved it when he got visitors...

Koios and Krios certainly held a grudge against him, they'd been visiting him every now and then over the last few days/weeks (really, who knows?) and- how would he put it? Oh yeah- beating the holy Hera out of him.

Percy hated it. The torture in general, was unappealing, but it was the helplessness that got to him, the sheer inability to fight back. He lifted his arms a fraction of an inch, constantly checking the chains were still attached, that they hadn't broken during the struggles.

But of course these wouldn't break. Hand crafted by Ouranous to contain the titans, then reinforced by Hephaestus to doubly make sure. No, he couldn't get out of them using force. And powers were off the table, they were cut off, restricting them to the confines of his body. He could feel it flowing inside of him, and the Nyx blessing still worked within his body, the smoke travelling through him to fix the more major injuries, which he was extremely thankful for.

He was doing this for Annabeth, he was doing this for Annabeth, he was doing this for Annabeth...

Percy knew she'd be okay, and the sheer relief was constantly bubbling beneath the surface, a feeling that made him want to either cry or throw up, he didn't know how to explain it. He wasn't a fan of Hades too much but he knew he was fair. He knew Annabeth would be brought back. But on some level in his head, Percy couldn't really accept it until he saw her, until he saw her smile again.

A roar from outside caught his attention, head moving slowly. The angle he had to sleep on had created a crick in his neck, like he'd stretched a nerve. It sounded like Koios and Koios were fighting, first in the Tongue of Old Times, which they liked to yell at him at sometimes and give him 'lessons' in, then switching to English.

"-are? You-!... I... _ever_!" Koios was bellowing, loud as an avalanche.

Percy strained to hear, leaning forwards.

"I swear-!... Not...! ... _Jackson_!"

Ah. Percy screwed up his face. They always found a way to include him, and judging by the heavy footfalls slamming nearer and nearer to him, he was about to be in trouble. They wouldn't kill him, he mused morbidly. That was something he could probably count on. And he had the Nyx blessing, which, while he couldn't use its benefits, healed him internally. Without it... Well he'd most likely be dead. On his own, he didn't think he was strong enough to fight through it.

Koios stomped into view furiously.

Percy shifted backwards slightly, getting ready for any blows. Where Krios just generally liked to hit him, Koios liked talking, then lashing out when he least expected it if Percy got a word wrong in the old language they spoke to him in, or if Percy said anything he didn't like, which was most of the time.

Koios came to a stop in front of him, dropping into a crouch, leaning far too close into Percy's personal space.

"Tell me the answer quickly, and maybe I'll leave you with all your limbs vaguely attached."

Great start, Percy thought, tilting his head to the side to avoid Koios' foul breath.

"If you want an answer, you generally have to ask a questio-" His reply was cut off as Koios grabbed his jaw, pulling him forwards.

" _What_ ," Koios began in a low hiss, "did you tell my brother?"

Percy let a beat pass, a litany of curses muttered angrily in his head.

"I told him the same thing I'll tell you." Percy started carefully, voice slightly muffled in Koios's hold, his stomach sinking slightly.

Koios didn't break eye contact, gripping harder on Percy's face, so tight Percy could feel bruises blossoming underneath his fingertips. Percy continued.

"The way I got out last time, I took a drakon with me. I have Hades' word that he'll get me out this time, so long as I complete a mission for him while I'm here. I said I could get you out. I can. Just not both of you. I can only take one."

Koios didn't move for a few seconds, and Percy had visions of him just crushing his jaw. He breathed a sigh of relief when Koios let go, feeling flowing back into his face, but it quickly turned to ice when Koios began chuckling darkly.

"Oh, I _like_ you." He told Percy with a sickly grin. "Well, not _you_ exactly, if anything I despise you as much as the Olympians themselves, but they hide on their mountain, cowering and leaving their children to do their every job."

He pointed to Percy.

"You're down here with the rest of us, killing as many as you can," Here, his voice went a little lower, as if stage whispering, "and don't think I haven't heard how low you've dropped to accomplish what you've done, Godkiller," Percy winced slightly as Koios returned to full volume, "You're brave, I'll give you that. Well, that or you're incredibly stupid. You've taken your beatings like a champion, and yet you _still_ have the _audacity_ to lie to my face?" Koios finished.

Oh no.

Percy didn't have time to move before Koios had him by the neck, feet trailing the floor as he choked.

"It's a good manipulation technique." Koios said casually, as if he wasn't cutting off Percy's air supply, "It worked on Krios, something that will have to be fixed later. Divide and conquer, yes? You pit us against each other, one makes it out and takes you with them, you overpower them and escape?"

Percy's face was slowly going purple, his blood beating loudly in his ears.

"But you can't fool me. We're not stupid. You'll pay for this, Perseus. Don't try to trick us again."

With that, he let him drop, before striding away. Percy inhaled deeply, gasping to fill his lungs again. He breathed evenly until his head no longer hurt.

Right. Back up plan.

...

What was the backup plan? He had no idea. Right. Get them to the Lethe, kick one in? No, kick both in. Make them like Bob. Use them against Gaia. Ah, he'd refine his plan later. Right now, he was just too tired.

He observed the chains around his wrists for what seemed like the thousandth time. He knew he couldn't get them off by force, or by overpowering them. There had to be a key somewhere. He guessed that Koios would have the key, he seemed to be a control freak, and he certainly wouldn't trust Krios after this.

Percy let his hands drop to the floor. He was tired. He didn't know how long he'd been there, or how long he was going to be there. He just wanted to go home.

Not New York. Not Camp Half Blood. Not even the Argo II. No, his home was with his family. His mum and Paul, Annabeth, Grover, the rest of the seven. Wherever they were, so long as they were all together, he was home.

He thought about what Gaia had told him; that he could have a life down here, away from her and away from the prophecy. Percy scoffed. Some life. Being punched to a bloody pulp by a couple of angry titans whenever they felt like it wasn't exactly on his to-do list for the next few decades. Or however long he would live. If this was as far as he would get, or the end of the line... he wouldn't have this as his life. He wouldn't live this way. Elysium would be better than this. Or wherever he was going now.

His stomach growled again, a whine like a dying animal. He hadn't eaten in a while, the last drakon steak had been rationed by Krios to give to him every other day or so, and he had finished it a while ago. They couldn't let him starve if they wanted him alive. Or bleed out, he noted, being vaguely aware that he was bleeding in various places all over his body. They seemed very determined to break him. But Percy wouldn't give up. He couldn't. He needed to go back and fight. They needed to win.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Sorry this is late yall, final exams are in like a month, and idk I'm calm about them but no one else seems to be and that sets me on edge. My first exam is Spanish speaking, which, ya know, is bueno. I have to talk for about seven minutes about global issues, and I've decided to talk about 'when I was homeless', it's crazy. How are yall celebrating Easter?**

 **I accidentally started writing Koios like Negan from The Walking Dead. I think I like it?**


	39. Piper II

**Late, I know. Soz. May be out of commission for a while after this, my GCSEs are happening like right now, I've got over 20 exams yikes.**

 **Update- yeah I've actually been in and out the hospital so idk about updating speed anymore, just know that this story is my baby and I'll never abandon it, I constantly think about the directions I'll take it. I'll try and update when I can. (We're not sure if it's serious or not but there are complications that could mean something really bad)**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 39

Piper II

"A- _Annabeth_?" Piper ventured into the completely shocked silence.

The girl in front of them sat up slowly, digging her fingers into the soft earth beneath her. Piper watched in amazement as a look of confusion crossed Annabeth(?)'s face. She stepped forwards.

"Annabeth?" Piper tried again, sinking to her knees in the grass, a foot away from her.

The girl blinked, then her head snapped up, hair bouncing with life. Her eyes had that sparkle of silver that Piper had thought she'd only ever see again in her dreams.

"I- I was- the- I- Percy- where? _How_?... Piper?" Annabeth stammered, scanning around frantically.

She had handfuls of grass in her fists, muscles tense.

Piper let a beat go between them, the breeze flowing softly across their faces, before lunging for the girl, wrapping her arms around her so tightly that Piper never wanted to let go. Annabeth's hand came up to her shoulder hesitantly.

"Piper?" Annabeth asked, confused and slightly muffled in her shoulder. "What the Hades is going on?"

Piper pulled back, still holding the leaving, breathing, warm and utterly befuddled alive Annabeth by the shoulders, and couldn't help but laugh.

"What do you remember?" Jason asked softly, as yet another golden blanket was draped around Annabeth, seemingly conjured by Apollo out of nowhere. Annabeth looked like she was going to overheat, but wasn't complaining about it, all of them gathered round her in the grass.

Piper was holding Annabeth's hand sympathetically, cross legged next to her, and smiled grimly as Annabeth winced.

"I was- we were fighting the monster but I- I got caught underneath-"

Annabeth's grip got tighter and tighter, and she trailed off, breathing quicker.

"We don't need to get into that now." Piper interrupted hastily.

Annabeth twitched up a corner of her mouth gratefully, but it quickly disappeared, the panic not quite gone. She watched her hands shake before shoving them under her thighs, clamping them between her legs to render them immobile. She remembered what it felt like to drown, remembered it all with a mix of horrible clarity and disturbing fuzziness. It was like she was back there in flashes, like she could remember the feeling of the water on her, in her.

Everything was dark-

water was in her nose, in her head-

her lungs jolting and forcing her to retch-

only to inhale more water-

"-beth! Annabeth!"

Annabeth blinked slowly, like she'd had a stroke, her head heavy. Her heart was slamming against her ribs, and a feeling like someone had jammed a tennis ball down her throat made breathing difficult. She had backed away from them all, cowering in a way that made her heart flip in disgust. Jason was crouched next to her, looking worried.

"I want Percy." She whispered, hugging her knees to her chest.

Piper was wincing slightly, her hand red from Annabeth's death grip, but she placed her other on Annabeth's shoulder, who was grateful for the contact.

"He's- he's not here. He went to bring you back, I'm sorry, we don't know where he is anymore." Leo told her apologetically.

"Anymore? Bring me back?" Annabeth was uncharacteristically slower than usual, but everyone understood, and explained with great patience.

"We got to the doors. There were so many monsters, Annabeth, a _giant_ , we didn't know if we'd get out. Then the Gods joined us, helped us sort out the giant, there were still _so many_ monsters, and then the doors opened, like a lift. A drakon came out and-"

"A drakon?" Annabeth raised her eyebrows in shock.

Piper smiled.

"Don't worry, she's tamed."

Annabeth blinked. And then again. A small smile, full of scepticism, yet full of knowing, slid onto her face. "He did _not_ bring a drakon."

Jason snorted and shook his head in defeat.

"We were shocked too. He was on its back, Annabeth. Even named it, Maia, I think, because it's actually the-''

"-Maeonian drakon." Annabeth said quietly, a fond smile on her face that twitched slightly in sadness. "So he got out okay? Where is he now?" A line appeared on her forehead now, worry that Percy wasn't there.

Everyone breathed in slightly, wincing a bit as they remembered what he looked like. No one seemed to be able to find the words to describe exactly if he was 'okay' or not.

"He- uh- he wasn't exactly okay, he looked pretty banged up to be honest. Like, badly." Piper wasn't going to lie to her, a comforting hand on her shoulder "But he was fighting alright and he could walk. Four limbs, two eyes, two swords- yeah I don't know how he did that either, went in with none came out with two."

"How was he really? Mentally?" Annabeth pressed.

They all looked unsure. Hazel stepped up, resting a hand on Annabeth's shoulder.

"I walked with him on the way out. He was quiet, but he smiled at us. He probably just needs to recover, with friends. And he'll definitely need you."

"You should have seen him when he saw your- um- well, just when he saw you." Leo offered, wincing sympathetically. "Man, he was angry. He actually punched Poseidon in the face. Dared Zeus to do something." Leo dropped his voice slightly towards the end, but some of the Gods shuffled tensely.

Zeus scowled.

Annabeth couldn't help a snort break out of her nose. Her hand rose to cover her mouth as she chuckled weakly.

The anxiety around them drained slightly at that. Annabeth forced her muscles to relax.

"How did he bring me back?"

Nico shrugged, and his eyes darkened slightly as he gestured towards Hades.

"You said he was doing a favour for you. We don't know what that entails however." He added to Annabeth at the end.

Annabeth frowned, and switched her stare to Hades, who merely blinked at her.

"Jackson effectively signed a contract with me, he gets it done, you come back, we don't deal with what or why." Hades said, faltering a bit under Annabeth's glare but continued nonetheless. "I don't know when, or if, he'll come back."

"If?"

Annabeth heard other voices alongside hers, but none contained the low venom that came out her mouth.

Hades held up his hands.

"I told him the risks. He just went for it."

"And the risks are?"

This time Athena spoke. She was closer, and had hesitantly dropped a hand on Annabeth's shoulder, uncomfortable at first, but Annabeth didn't want her to take it off. The gods were distant, but... She couldn't help but crave the feeling of a mother, a role most often filled by Sally Jackson.

Hades didn't exactly meet their eyes now.

"Bringing a loved one back from the dead doesn't mean you just kill a monster and retrieve some treasure. It needs something large. Yes, Jackson could die. Or worse. It is a very unpleasant task. He knew all of this. He went ahead, even demanded that she be brought back first, in case he didn't come back." Hades said firmly.

Annabeth's brow contracted in worry as Athena's hand tensed slightly on her shoulder. Now, she was worried. And angry that Hades wouldn't tell them. She wanted to get up, threaten him, kick him between his legs right in his godly baby maker, but her eyes were twitching. She was no stranger to sleep deprivation, but she knew she was at her limits. Exhaustion was embedded in her body, like cotton wool, to the point that the thought of moving was too tiring. Her mind was slower than usual, only one thought occupying her, making her chew her lip in worry, Piper rubbing her cold hands with warm sympathy.

Gods, where was Percy _now_?

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Guys I know I know it's been a long time, and it may be long again. My last exam is June 15th, and then I've got an extra long summer, then I start college (UK college, for yall american peeps, ages 16-18 where u get ur A Levels), I can't wait :)**

 **Also, yeah I've got glandular fever, and it sucks.**


	40. Percy XXV

**Hey guys, it's half term at the moment, I'm just under halfway through my GCSEs. Tbh as soon as we leave, everyone just goes on twitter for the memes. I've taken my ICT, English lit 1 and 2, physics 1, Spanish speaking, art, textiles, maths 1 and geography 1. They've all been generally okay, I'm just rlly nervous. Can't wait for them to be over, we're all gonna go to McDonalds at 5am.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 40- ooh

Percy XXV

A small hand touched the side of his face gently, and Percy jerked his head back, blinking off sleep. He was still in the cave, dimly lit by the burning torch, meaning cobwebs of darkness lurked in the corners, large enough to conceal many a monster. Dazed for a second, Percy's hands rising up, unhindered by the usual chains. He frowned, confused, before looking up, as he remembered the hand, that quickly withdrew.

Blonde hair and silver eyes met his.

Annabeth was crouched in front of him.

"-nabeth?''

"Hey Percy." Annabeth replied softly, her beautiful face inches from his.

Percy stared at her, unable to form a coherent thought.

"We need to go, can you stand?" Annabeth asked, worried eyes scanning his battered form.

Percy shrugged, wincing. What- what was going on? Annabeth's strong arms pulled him onto his knees, her hands on his bare back, careful to avoid the congealed gashes, too injured to get up by himself.

"- _nabeth_?" Percy questioned again, weakly.

"We need to go, Percy, come on, to your feet!" Annabeth commanded him, so beautifully familiar that Percy's eyes welled up, a lump in his throat.

"Why- you shouldn't be down here." Percy got out, sea green eyes drinking in every detail of her. "H- _how_ did you-?"

Annabeth was clean, cleaner than anything he'd seen in a while, her dagger at her side, hands gripping his wrist. Her hair curled delicately round her neck. Percy lifted his hand to hers, her skin soft and tanned.

"We're here to get you? What do you think?" Annabeth demanded, "But we need to leave, now!"

Percy nodded, trying desperately to kick his mind into gear. With Annabeth's hands under his arm, he struggled to his feet, knees threatening to buckle.

"You're here." He mumbled, as pain screamed through his body, the edges of his vision tingling with dark dots, swimming in his sight. "You're here." He said again. "Wh-?"

"Percy? Hey, stay with me, alright? What happened to staying together?"

"Never leave again." Percy said, clinging to Annabeth, the smell of her shampoo making his eyes water, remembering a less complicated time when it was just them and Grover against the world, bickering constantly, because they knew if they didn't bicker, they'd have to confront just how head over heels they were for each other.

Annabeth mumbled something into the top of his head, not minding his filthy hair.

Percy couldn't hold himself up any longer, one knee buckling.

Krios and Koios had really done a number on him, a constant dull pain all over his ribs and face, where he knew a lot of things were out of place, could feel the wrongness in structure.

" _Hey_ , no, no, no, come on, Percy, you got this." Annabeth was by him in an instant. "We have nectar and ambrosia outside, we just need to get there, you can do this, I know you can."

Percy tried to move, tried to prove to Annabeth that he was trying, to show how desperate he was to get out of the cave that had held him captive for Gods know how long, but felt as if he was in quicksand, sinking deeper and deeper.

"Percy, please, _please_ , I can't carry you, you're too heavy!" Annabeth had begun to plead tearfully. "Gods what have they done to you?"

Annabeth was very strong, but he was taller, weighing more. She was right, she always was, he needed to move.

But as hard as Percy strained, he couldn't get any further than where he was, the effort causing streams down his cheeks, gasping in effort.

"I can't." He choked.

Annabeth withdrew, crying, staggering back a few feet. She watched him in fear, before turning, almost hesitantly.

" _No_ ," Percy could barely recognise his own voice as he begged, "No, _please_ don't leave me here."

His voice was raw with emotion, the uncontainable need for human contact. He'd welcome a hug from anyone at this point, just to be held, as if he was a child again, plagued with nightmares, fleeing to his sympathetic mother.

But Annabeth shook her head. With wide apologetic eyes, she fled round the corner, out the cave. Percy strained again, but couldn't move his arms.

"I gotta say, this is my favourite one yet, really passes the time."

Koios' voice cut through the sound of Percy's rough breathing. Percy's head craned upwards, shocked to see Koios leaning against the cavern wall opposite, sprawled almost lazily.

Percy blinked.

His wrists were still thickly manacled, smears of blood around them from how hard he had pulled, the edges sinking into his flesh.

It hadn't been real.

Again.

Percy swore, edging backwards until he was back against the wall, before pulling up his knees and letting his head rest on them. He had got him again. Percy could never tell the difference when Koios did this, the part he hated the most. It was like his mind was different, like he couldn't remember why something wasn't the same. It was too realistic, even down to the damn smells.

Annabeth had come to rescue him over ten times.

He remembered that now.

"Stay out of my head." Percy growled from underneath his arms, muffled, "I _swear_ to the Gods I'll kill you."

"Sure you will." Koios drawled, smirking.

Percy looked him directly in the eyes, conveying as much hatred as he could.

"I'm gonna drown you in your own blood." He told him quietly.

Koios watched him for a few minutes, before he huffed out a breath through his nose and smiled, teeth like daggers. " _Gods_ , you'd be useful on our side."

"I've been told." Percy sighed thickly. "Not gonna happen."

Koios opened his mouth to speak again, but footsteps cut him off. Percy strained for any sign that it was someone, anyone else, but the weight of the steps told him enough.

Krios turned the corner, taking in the scene with raised eyebrows.

"Messing with his head again?"

"It's so much fun." Koios replied. "Come on, try it."

Krios sat down beside his brother.

"I'd love to, but Antaeus has caught wind of our little trophy." Krios said, gesturing to Percy.

"Antaeus?" Percy questioned. "The big dude? The 'can only be killed in mid-air' dude?"

"You've met him, why am I not surprised." Koios said.

Percy had fought him in the labyrinth, a difficult fight that he had only won by getting him caught up in chains. He was his half brother, sharing Poseidon as a father, only Antaeus' mother was Gaia.

"He wants to see you again." Krios waved him off. "Something about a rematch and favouritism. Asked us to take you to the Arena."

Percy furrowed his brow.

"Arena?"

Both titans looked at him.

"You don't know about the Arena?" Krios asked.

Koios grinned.

"We've _got_ to take him now." He said.

"And should he die?" Krios remarked.

Koios shrugged as Percy glanced between them like a tennis match. This didn't sound good.

"So throw him in the river that heals him." Koios said nonchalantly, before rolling his eyes, "Oh, come on, you've been wanting to settle our gambling debt with him for centuries."

Krios gave Percy a once over.

"Fine. Mother needs to get the other demigods as well at the same time, we have a window."

Koios slapped his knees in triumph, and got to his feet, striding over to Percy.

"I want to get there quickly then," Koios said, a hand curling around a struggling Percy's neck, "We don't have time for slow walkers."

With that, he pulled Percy back, and slammed his head into the back of the cave, and Percy knew no more.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Hm I'm trying to introduce another character, and idk whether to do it now or at the end of this arc, maybe I'll do both somehow idk ignore these ramblings.**

 **Phew this was a quicker update, I love writing Percy chapters and this is a pretty good arc, I've got about 7 days of half term left, might update, might not, unsure, but I'll try.**

 **Review!**


	41. Percy XXVI

**Only got about 3 GCSE exams left, Spanish 4, maths 3, and physics 2. No idea if I've done well in any of them, but I'm hoping that's just nerves. I'm smart, so I know I won't fail, but it's just that I want perfection, and that's really annoying.**

 **Anyway, yall love percy as much as I do, so here's a percy chapter that's boss (she writes arrogantly, having not actually written the chapter yet). Read on and review!**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 41 

Percy XXVI

Screams erupted around Percy's ears.

His eyes snapped open, rings of green squinting at the sudden awakening. His hands came down instinctively to push himself backwards, scrambling to his feet as the back of his head throbbed-

Percy froze.

What the-?

He was in the middle of a massive arena, like an amphitheatre.

And there were absolutely thousands of monsters around him, stood in the stands roaring and cheering, a vibrating mass of claws and horns, a deafening echo. The ragged stands were tall; they had to be to fit all the giants, a couple buildings tall, forming a rough circle bigger than the strawberry fields at camp. In the middle stood Percy, some kind of blood red sand underneath his feet. Framing the circle were thick walls of stone, with barred windows sunk into them at the bottom, possibly leading to some kind of cells.

Percy turned in a slow circle, restricted by the chains the linked his wrists and ankles together, a stretch of metal links dragging through the sand.

Monsters were quite literally hanging out of their seats to scream at him, writhing with deranged eyes flashing at him, claws curling over the edges of the barriers.

There was a huge barred portcullis gate on the other side of the arena, and above it a sort of platform. Percy could spy a couple large chairs upon it.

"Oh great." He mumbled under his breath, searching his new restraints for any give, but they were the same as the others.

"Jackson! _Jackson_!"

Percy turned his head, spotting Koios and Krios in the crowd, in the front row. The monsters around them gave them a wide berth.

Percy walked over to them, wincing at the wave of dizziness he recognised as a concussion. He reached the high wall, and craned his neck up at them.

Koios and Krios leaned their faces over.

"Right, Jackson, you were out for a while so there's no time to explain. Basically, you're gonna fight Antaeus and kill him and pay off our debt. We don't have to hand you in to mother for a while."

"Antaeus..." Percy muttered, dazed.

"Oh right, right." Krios disappeared for a few seconds, before returning with a basin. "Stay still."

He tipped the basin over the wall, and a gush of dark fiery water poured out.

Percy's hands shot up to protect his eyes, the water splattering onto his head, boiling hot. He gritted his teeth, knowing that it would heal him, but despising it all the same. The monsters' roaring increased, the noise resounding all around him.

Percy tried to rub the water all around his face, keeping his eyes shut as his nose shifted slowly back into place. The burn prickled over his skin as Koios kept talking.

"That'll heal you up so you can fight. You get to go in with one sword- bone or bronze?" Koios held both up.

"Bronze." Percy replied, catching it as it was thrown down. "I can't fight in chains." He added.

Koios raised an eyebrow.

"I doubt that, but they'll take away the chain when it starts. Cuffs, however, stay on. Krios said what you did at the doors."

Percy conceded that point, letting drops of the water go down towards his ribs, where the skin was black and lumpy, wincing at the memory of Koios beating the holy hades out of him with one hand, the other around his neck. He couldn't beat Antaeus without his powers, he needed a way to get Antaeus in the air. He continued to talk for several minutes to the titans, but the noise grew louder and louder, to the point that he could barely hear Krios.

"You kill Antaeus, we pay off our debt. You have to win." Krios shouted over the noise.

"Why would _I_ help you?" Percy returned, scowling as he watched his bruises fade into fresh skin.

"Every match is to the death, Jackson. If you don't win, he'll try and kill you, and then we'll have to stop him, and then we'll probably all die. Owner of the arena doesn't like rule breaking. You can't leave the circle until you've won, so no heroics. Just don't break the rules."

"Right. Kill Antaeus then." Percy yelled. "Who's the owner?"

"Better you don't know." Koios replied darkly. "Now shut up and get ready. You won't be fighting only Antaeus. He'll probably wait until he's last."

Percy had been slowly devising a plan for Antaeus, but the addition of more could complicate things. He was powerless and still a little sore, but otherwise he was good to fight.

The bellows of the arena came to a crescendo, twisting into a chant of grunts, hands slamming into the stones. Percy turned round apprehensively, turning his sword in his hands.

The portcullis at the other end of the stadium lifted up slowly, sand sliding off the edges into the pit.

The metallic clanking was all that Percy could hear, drowning the screams of the monsters out.

With an almighty roar, Antaeus burst through the gap, fifteen foot high and wide as a tank. More monsters were scattered around his feet, seemingly irrelevant, but Percy knew from Krios that anyone participating had practically sold their soul to get the chance to fight him, he couldn't underestimate them.

He didn't know whether to be offended or flattered.

" _An-tae-US! An-tae-US_!"

Reverberations shook the stadium, the half giant in question raising his arms in the air arrogantly, black eyes gleaming as a louder roar erupted.

"Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, demigod! We meet again!" Antaeus bellowed, still the natural entertainer, as the crowd hushed instantly, eager to watch.

"Last time, you defeated me, yes I admit it! But how many of _you_ have _too_? By this mere half-mortal?" Antaeus yelled, pointing his sword in Percy's direction as the other monsters growled around him.

A loud ' _boo_ ' screamed from the stands, and Antaeus seemed to relish in it.

"Exactly!" He continued, his voice booming. "But you see, last time he trapped me in chains to kill me! Where are his chains now, huh? _On. His. Wrists_!"

More deafening bellows; Percy wasn't having this.

"Antaeus!" He shouted as loudly as he could.

The crowd went dead silent as he walked slowly towards Antaeus, who grinned savagely at him.

"I talked with Poseidon after we fought, y'know. Favourite son? How sure are you about that?" Percy said, infusing as much confidence into his voice as he could.

Antaeus narrowed his eyes, the smile plastered across his face fake. The crowd began whooping.

"Ah, you tell such sweet lies brother." Antaeus laughed, but Percy could see how he gripped his sword at his side tighter.

"I'm not your brother." Percy snapped, still sizing up the other monsters.

"Ah, true, we are only half brothers. Where my mother is mother nature herself, yours is some fragile pathetic _mortal_ out of her league with a God." Antaeus joked, the monsters behind him snickering.

Percy didn't move, eyes flickering in his direction.

"What did you just call my mother?" He asked Antaeus quietly.

The stand quietened down in tense anticipation; Antaeus smirked.

"Your mother is absolutely _nothing_ , especially compared to mine." He crowed, inciting uproarious applause.

Percy watched him as he waved his arms in the air victoriously.

"But without further ado, let us begin!" Antaeus walked into the middle of the pit, kicking sand up as he walked. "Jackson, come forth to remove your chains."

Percy frowned. "I think I'll keep them on actually." He said.

Antaeus wavered, a little confused, before roaring.

"Stubborn to the end, huh? I love it! Let us begin!"

At his signal, the monsters behind him leapt into action, barrelling towards him. Percy got into his stance, holding his sword with both hands. He'd fought without his powers plenty of times. He could do this.

The first monster he met snarled, and leapt for his head, an easy target. Percy dropped to one knee, his sword arcing over his head to slice the monster in half.

The gold dust almost made it difficult to see the next attackers, two monsters Percy had never seen before, abnormally long necks, like flamingos.

Percy swung out at one, while sloppily kicking the other in the chest, sending it stumbling back a few feet. His sword cut through the neck as smoothly as if he was cutting through water. The other shook its head and growled, but stayed back warily. The others had begun to circle him as well. Percy spotted Antaeus behind them, leaning against a wall and watching with a gleeful smile.

Percy's eyes flicked around; he turned in a circle slowly, observing every monster. One of the large fanged ones looked as if it was going to pounce any second: he needed to move on his terms, and he couldn't take the waiting.

Catching a few by surprise, Percy swung behind him, jumping backwards until he was in the middle of the arena. He couldn't let them surround him again.

And then they came, also done with waiting, first one at a time, then two at once; Percy swore that there were more than there were in the beginning.

He kicked one in the chest as hard as he could, sending it flying backwards with a screech. The audience booed loudly, and Percy didn't know if it was for him or the failed monster. He guessed both. Percy wiped sweat off his brow, gripping his sword tighter as more beared down on him.

It was only when he decapitated the last three or so that he noticed; out of the gold dust piles, the ones with the long necks were coming back. There was a small purple-ish bubble, then a mass of flesh the size of a small cat, before it split into two, back at full size and heading towards him.

"What the-?"

Percy cut himself off with a grunt, spinning around and running the one behind him through. Damn thing had left a nasty looking cut on his arm, with the long claws that sprouted out the end of each arm.

There were at least double the amount there were at the beginning, all the same flamingo-monster.

"The Poli!" Antaeus shouted. "For our friends out of town, you may not recognise them. They are a distant relative of the Hydra! Kill one Pollá, two more shall rise!"

Percy knew absolutely nothing about them. He suspected that they'd never even made it out of Tartarus. Great. Just great.

He kicked them back as best he could while thinking. _You kill a Hydra with fire-_ He slammed one into a wall- _no fire here and_ \- Percy slammed the handle of the sword into one's head- _no way to summon the Phlegthon without_ \- He ran one through and winced- _getting the cuffs off._

Maybe he needed to try a different approach.

Percy kicked up some sand into the eyes of the ones closest to him, slicing them through as quick as a wasp, not giving the others a second to breathe before jumping in, killing as many as he could see. The crowd began to stamp their feet and whoop.

The Poli began to swarm him, but Percy wasn't giving them a single second to get near him, whipping around and burying his sword up to the hilt in one of them, two of them, three-

Every single Pollá turned to dust.

Percy blinked, standing up straight, not letting his sword go down. What? Where had they gone? Percy stood, still on edge.

The crowd began to boo loudly, monsters shouting insults at him. Percy scowled.

"Ah yes." Antaeus shook his head. "The problem with a Pollá, kill the original and they all die. But good for a show, are they not?" His voice projected loudly into the stands, every monster on their feet making noise.

"And now that our young demigod has warmed up, may I present- me!" Antaeus cried with a flourish. "The main event! A fight to the death! The more blood the better!"

The crowd whooped as Percy walked slowly into the middle again, glancing at the freely bleeding cut on his left arm. It would heal, but not anytime soon.

Antaeus withdrew his sword, about five foot long and a rusted red colour. Percy guessed it wasn't paint.

"Ready to die, Jackson?" Antaeus asked him quietly with an evil grin.

"Since I was twelve," Percy replied easily. "But just not today."

They took their stances.

A horn went off somewhere, loud in the silent crowd as they watched with eager and bloodthirsty anticipation.

Antaeus made the first move, bringing his sword down heavily. Percy darted to the left as it smacked into the sand, before jumping over it as Antaeus sliced along the floor in an arc.

Antaeus would heal from anything Percy gave him. He needed to get this done quick.

He tempted Antaeus into duelling with him, their swords flashing as they fought for several long tense minutes, Percy ducking and weaving as they worked their way from one side of the arena and back again, a fierce battle, the clanging of their swords getting faster and faster.

Percy aimed for his wrist, his sword sinking into the flesh a few inches before Antaeus' other hand punched him in the shoulder, sending him staggering away, ripping out his sword.

Antaeus howled, but even from where Percy was standing he could see the skin knit back together lightning fast. He ducked into a roll as Antaeus swung, aiming for the back of Antaeus' knee, trying to incapacitate him for a few seconds, but it was barely even that before Antaeus was fighting again.

"You know," Percy panted as he and Antaeus began to duel, the half giant moving fluidly as if Percy hadn't just cut open the back of his knee, "I don't even think you're his second favourite son. Or third." He added, as Antaeus growled at him, putting more power behind his swings.

Percy needed to get him more riled, _a great plan_ , cried his brain, but Percy ignored it, trying to steer the duel in the right direction.

"I am his most powerful son!" Antaeus bellowed, as Percy missed a beheading by a fraction of a millimeter.

The crowd ' _ohh'ed_ in disappointment and glee.

"Really? How come? What have you even done?" Percy gritted his teeth as his arms shook at the full strength of Antaeus being smashed into his sword.

"I have killed thousands upon thousands of demigods and monsters alike, I am an unbeatable champion!"

"What about Hercules? Or even me? You lost to both of us, and we didn't even have a primordial as a parent." Percy asked.

"Of course." Antaeus snarled, ignoring his question. " _You're_ half mortal. Half _filth_."

Their interlocking swords shook with raw strength, and Percy pushed back with all he had, but Antaeus' sword was slipping off the top and towards him and-

Percy moved.

But he wasn't quick enough.

The blade swang across his face like a whiplash. It streaked like fire through his eyebrow, going downwards. Percy clenched his eye shut, but he still felt it lightly cut the skin of his eyelid, before it went heavily down his cheek.

He was flung backwards towards the wall, where he fell heavily in the sand, a hand pressed up hard against his bloody face. He blinked, his vision slightly cloudy with dark spots, but he could still see, the left eyeball itself undamaged. He had one Hades of a cut down his face though; he could feel it throbbing all the way down.

Antaeus roared in victory, pumping his fist into the air like some wrestler. He thought he had won.

But Percy wasn't done yet.

He grabbed his sword and sprinting forwards, blood pouring from his eyebrow into the sand below, turning it a darker red.

Antaeus caught sight of him, and laughed, swinging his sword down again. Percy dodged it and it thumped into the sand, the perfect position.

Percy ran up the length of his sword, using it as a ramp, and jumped off Antaeus' shoulder onto his head, catching a glimpse of surprise before he hooked his chains underneath his chin, a hand on each side, and pulled.

Having thrown all his weight into the jump, Percy had to hold on as Antaeus staggered towards the wall, dropping his sword so his hands could try and rip off the chain that was slowly cutting off his breathing.

Antaeus' body slammed into the wall, narrowly avoiding turning Percy into a pancake.

Percy took that as his cue to step onto the wall, chain still hooked around his neck like the reins of a horse.

He leaned backwards as far as he could, pulling with every single bit of strength and weight in his body. His tattoo began to burn fiercely.

Antaeus' feet kicked as he was pulled off the ground.

Percy grinned with satisfaction as he saw the fear now spread across Antaeus' face as his fingers scrabbled at his neck.

"Oh and just for the record?" Percy said coldly, rotating his hand so the point of his sword was at Antaeus' neck, "My mother could totally beat yours."

He stabbed the sword through Antaeus' neck.

With an almighty burst of gold, Percy found himself alone on the wall, wobbling slightly at the loss of an anchor. He sat down on the edge of the wall and slid off, landing ungracefully in the sand pit.

The crowd was dead silent.

Percy frowned, dabbing blood away with the base of his palm. He won. Why didn't Koios and Krios look happy? They were sat in the stands, looking right at him, but they looked- shocked?

A monster in the stands stood up.

"He left the arena!" It screamed. "He broke the rules!"

Many fervount murmers of agreement met his claim, and Percy felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. He had only left the arena for a few seconds- he was on the wall, did that even count?

The gate at the end opened, and three tall cyclopes walked in, covered in armour holding spears. One of them held up a hook connected to a chain.

"You are to come with us." It said.

"Over your dead body." Percy retorted, but Krios and Koios were nodding desperately for him to comply.

Why was he looking for their advice? Percy didn't know. Maybe because he knew that they wanted to keep him alive.

The cyclops walked up to Percy and gestured towards his chains.

Percy sized them up. He couldn't take this many, not with his eye dripping with blood. Reluctantly, he held up his chains.

"The sword." The cyclop's voice was flat.

"The sword stays with me." Percy returned coldly.

"Just drop it, Jackson, we've got it." Krios hissed.

Percy rolled his eyes and let it slide out his hand, glaring as the cyclops hooked his chains up to another longer one. They pulled on it, and Percy found himself being tugged along, being escorted out through the gates.

It was darker inside what Percy assumed was the hollow stone wall, one winding corridor lit dimly by torches. Where was he being taken now? Gods, _what_ had he got into?

Percy was brought back to the memory of him, Annabeth and Grover, before Kronos, before Gaia. Where had it all gone wrong, huh?

He was so lost in thought that he almost walked into the cyclops when they stopped, in front of a thick door covered in deadbolts and a tiny panel window at the top.

"Someone will come for you when your punishment has been decided." The cyclops told him, still the same dull voice, though Percy could swear that he heard fear.

Percy raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"What, cuz I walked on a wall? You're kidding right? I was on there for about three seconds. That doesn't even count. Who's the owner here?" Percy demanded, but receiving no answer in return.

The cyclops opened the door, revealing an almost pitch black room, and pushed Percy inside, who was too tired to fight back, but still tried.

"Hey? You listening? _Hey_!" Percy yelled as the door slammed shut, hearing various locks click. "What the Hades is going on?"

But there was no answer. Just a thick meaty hand reaching towards the window, and pulling a grate across.

Percy was plunged into darkness.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Oof that's a longer chapter for yall.**

 **Ooh yall know it's pride month? I'm going to a pride parade tomorrow, it's always really fun and everyone's really happy and dressed up. I was binging shadowhunters (isn't that being cancelled?) and they all looked really cool with their fingerless leather gloves so I ordered some and now my pride outfit is all leather I can't wait- Update, we went and it was really fun, and I kinda nicked a wine bottle? Whoops. Don't steal, kids**.


	42. Percy XXVII

**Oh my goddio, finally done with todos mis GCSEs, on the last day we all went to McDonalds at 5am and then after the exam got absolutely hammered in a park somewhere, I was off my head, I'd drunk enough units to probably floor an elephant. Then prom, which was hella fun even if I had to redo my eyelashes. Cha Cha slide in heels is a lot easier than Cha Cha slide in ice skates, just FYI.**

 **Anyways, here's the chap, it's another Percy one cuz I cba to think of a plot for the others rn.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 42

Percy XXVII

Percy kept his hands on the door for a few minutes after the window was cut off, feeling his eyes kick into gear.

The silvery type of outline he had seen before appeared around the door, and Percy, keeping an eye on the floor to make sure there weren't any sudden drops, swivelled around where he stood.

He took in the dim frame of the walls and ceilings, the room much bigger than he had thought. In the pitch black darkness, he could just make out a few arches in the ceiling, stone pillars keeping it up, and the grey whisper of chains sunk into the wall of the cavernous type cell.

A chain clinked from somewhere in the darkness, and Percy's head shot in that direction.

The cell continued to curl around a wall, and out of sight for Percy; the noise must have come from round there. Percy frowned, hands trailing towards his waist. The tension in his chest decreased almost instantly as his hand found Riptide. It had come back to him. He'd never let himself be unarmed again.

He uncapped Riptide, still a little difficult with his chains, and the steady glow of his sword stretched into sight.

There was a deep and dark chuckle, just out of sight.

"What did _you_ do, then?" The Voice asked, out of the darkness.

Percy gripped his sword tightly, and began to sidestep cautiously towards the wall.

"How do you mean?" Percy replied levelly to the unknown threat.

"You have to do something to get put in here, kid."

It had a voice like gravel.

Percy angled his sword sideways to his body, prepared for a counter strike, and continued to take slow and careful steps, not taking his eyes of the wall.

"Is that why you're here? You broke the rules?" Percy kept his footsteps as silent as he could.

The voice laughed.

"I don't even know." It said. "I've been here so long I can barely remember what I did."

"Barely?" Percy caught.

"I _think_ I ran away." The Voice mused. "A fight to the death is always so dramatic. You?"

"I left the Arena by accident." Percy said, still on guard. "I won the battle but I stood on the wall, and apparently that's not allowed."

"Of course it isn't, you foolish boy. Did no one read you the rules?"

"I was kinda unconscious? I didn't get the chance." Percy replied sarcastically.

"You sound young." The Voice said suddenly.

Percy didn't say anything, but he slowed his steps, keeping the wall behind him pressed to his back to avoid being surrounded. It seemed like there was only the Voice in here, but Percy couldn't be too careful.

A loud drawn out sniff filled the silence of the room.

Percy's eyes were darting in every direction, constantly checking for movement. He hated the dark.

"What _are_ you?" The Voice questioned.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked.

"I can smell the mortality on you, but you reek of Olympian too, and there's something else in there too, something more powerful. You haven't got three parents, have you?"

"I'm a demigod." Percy said uncomfortably.

"You don't really smell like one." The Voice replied smoothly before changing the subject. "Do you know what's gonna happen to you?"

Percy shook his head. "No. What happens to the others?"

Drawn into conversation, Percy fumbled his way down the wall and sat on the cool stone floor, letting his tired legs stretch out beneath him. The water poured over him at the start of his fight had healed some of his injuries, but his body still ached, especially his face. He could feel every stinging inch of the long cut that ran down his face.

"Others?" The Voice answered him. "No one else is stupid enough to break the rules, boy. You'll probably suffer the same fate as I did, as I am. Left here for all of eternity to rot alone. Although you're here now. That'll be fun for a while until you die."

"Oh." Percy said. "Great."

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"What are you, then?" Percy asked. "Cyclops? Arai? Dracaenea?"

"I can't remember." The Voice replied tiredly. "I've got a couple arms, some legs, quite a few eyes. Take from that what you will."

"You're not human, are you?" Percy asked, a sudden horror taking over him.

"Gods, of course not." The Voice replied in disgust. "I've done far too much to even be considered human- _like_. Killing, torturing, the like. I haven't lost myself that much to make myself to think I'm something like that abomination."

"Thanks." Percy replied dryly.

In the dark, he began to poke at his chains with his sword, but it was useless; they couldn't be taken off without the key. He was lost in the glow of riptide after that. He had missed his sword. He held it up to his face, the glow lighting up his features, and peered into the blade of the sword, catching a brief glance of his reflection.

Yikes, he thought, lowering his sword slightly. He knew his nose was broken, but it looked half smashed, and there was something off about the structure of his right cheekbone. Greasy didn't quite cover the state of his limp and filthy hair. He shuddered when he lifted his hand to touch it. It felt like someone had dipped his head in a deep fat fryer and then left it to cool.

His skin was sticky with sweat and blood, he could feel it in-between his fingers and all over his back and chest. A shower, he thought, was now one of the most beautiful things in the world. He could feel it now, cool and flowing, stripping away the grime and gold dust that layered his body.

He let a finger prod the cut on his cheek, and inhaled sharply as it sent a lance of pain through his eye.

Got it, got it, _no touch_.

"You're not crying are you?" The Voice spoke up, booming loud in the dead air of the cell.

"No." Percy said before adding, "I'm too tired to cry."

The Voice snorted.

Percy took a long deep breath that squeezed his bruised chest a bit, trying to replace the oxygen in his body that always seemed to be running low. He felt like he hadn't breathed normally in years, he was always catching his breath from a fight or about to run into another.

"They won't just leave us here though, will they?" Percy said it before he could think about it, and it came out in a small voice.

The Voice didn't say anything, but Percy heard a low sigh.

"They wouldn't leave me here though." Percy said, a little stronger as he thought about it more. "They need me."

"Why?"

"Oh, some Titans are planning to drain my blood and sacrifice me to raise Gaia."

Percy ran a hand down his face, trying to sweep the gunk off, but by the feeling of it, he just put on more.

"Somehow that isn't the worst thing anymore." Percy spoke again.

"You have fun with that." The Voice had amusement in his voice. "I gotta say, this is the best conversation I've had in centuries."

Percy tried to stretch out his fatigue infused muscles as the Voice continued.

"I mean, it's the _only_ conversation I've had in centuries, but it's still the best."

Percy huffed out an amused breath through his nose.

"Centuries alone? You're remarkably sane."

"Ah, I doubt that." The Voice said. "I've had my crazy phases. You're lucky, you've just caught me at a sane phase. You should have seen me around three hundred years ago. Now that was someone you wouldn't mess with. Wild animal. Nearly tore my jaw off trying to bite through the walls. If you were there then... Oh, I would have _definitely_ eaten you."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Percy replied tiredly.

"Still might."

Percy couldn't help but snort.

There was a comfortable silence before-

"Who's the Owner?" Percy asked.

The Voice didn't answer at first. Then there was a clink of chains, and Percy imagined in his head that the Voice had just turned to face him.

"The Owner..." The Voice was as quiet as a single breath, and seemed to think about the next words very carefully. "He's the most terrifying thing you'll ever meet. Death has always been and will always will be a better option."

Percy swallowed. "What's his name?"

There was a rattle of chains. "Don't say the name. Not here, never here and not ever. Or he'll come. The only reason he's not here yet is probably because he's off somewhere else torturing some damned soul. Just don't. I don't think I can- not again-"

"I won't say it," Percy said quickly, "I don't even know the name, how could I say it?"

"Good." The Voice breathed. "Good."

The chains rattled once more as the Voice moved back to where it had been. "Gods, I hate these chains."

"Me too." Percy murmured, looking at his own shackled wrists, before an idea hit him. "Your chains are just standard chains, though, right?"

"As far as I'm aware."

Percy scrambled to sit up, uncapping Riptide. "I have a sword!" He exclaimed. "I can cut through your chains!"

There was a complete dead silence for a few minutes, and Percy felt his smile begin to fade and slide of his face.

"Hello? I said I ha-"

"You can kill me."

The words hit Percy. They were unexpected, but at the same time, exactly what Percy knew he would hear. He knew he would think it too after so long, hades, he'd been thinking about it a few minutes ago.

"I-"

"Do it."

"No, listen. I'm getting out of here. I'll cut your chains, and you can come with me."

Percy felt determined. He had the chance to actually save someone down here.

"No, you don't understand." The Voice was speaking rapidly. "No, you need to kill me. I can't be down here any longer. It's killing me."

"But we can escape and get out of here!"

Percy didn't know what to say to it. He just desperately wanted to help someone. Anyone. He needed to do some good down here. He didn't know why.

Neither of them spoke for a few seconds.

"Okay." The Voice said. "Okay. Come cut my chains off."

Percy blinked into the darkness, before smiling, and slowly walking towards the Voice. "Okay, I can't really see you here though."

"I can see you. Go to the left and then keep walking."

Percy acquiesed, changing direction at the Voice's instruction to get closer and closer. He had missed having someone, who wasn't trying to kill him, alongside him. He wasn't replacing Damasen, or Bob, he told himself. This was a completely new friend. He'd have to find out its name.

"Little bit more to the right." The Voice called out, very close in the area in front of him. "Stop!"

Percy stopped dead, eyes flitting around in the darkness.

"I still can't see you?" Percy said.

The Nyx blessing was muted, but he could see the silvery outlines of the walls and ceilings. But no monster.

"It's okay." The Voice said. "I can see you." The chains clinked and Percy saw brief movement in front of him now.

"Okay. My arms are stretched out in front of you. The chains are in-between. You're going to need to do it in one big swing to break them. Got it?"

Percy nodded. "Okay. Are they here?" He held his sword out in front of him, point facing the opposite wall.

There was a bit more movement.

"Perfect." said The Voice. "Hurry now. I've waited a long time for this."

Percy nodded determinedly. Keeping his sword as straight as possible, he lifted it up.

"Ready?"

"Please."

Percy knew something was off when he swung down, but he couldn't stop it.

His sword sank into flesh.

"No-!"

" _Thank you_." The Voice whispered, right in front of him.

The pressure holding his sword in place vanished. Percy presumed that it had just turned to dust. It had sat right under his sword and told him to swing.

Percy stood perfectly still in the darkness.

He stayed stood up for a time after that, just watching the space in front of him. His grip on his sword loosened and tightened. He wasn't quite sure how to react. He stretched a hand out to the wall, and sat down again, staring into the darkness that seemed to stare back at him for hours it seemed. Days.

He figured he'd been in there for at least a day or two, alone, hungry and silent when there was a great bang at the door and a metallic sliding noise.

Percy forced his head to turn, wincing at the long beam of light that shot into the cell, dust particles dancing through it.

"Jackson!"

Percy made himself move, shakily walking over to the door. Krios' face was in the gap, gesturing madly.

"Right, there's no time to waste, step back." Krios snapped.

Percy side stepped out of the way as a giant dent appeared in the door with a clang, once, twice, then-

With a head spinning boom, the heavy door shot across the cell, slamming against the wall. Krios and Koios stood in the gap, alongside several Guard cyclopes.

"Come on, we've got to go, _now_!"

Percy blinked. They were breaking him out. He'd told The Voice they were coming. He was right.

The Voice...

"You're just gonna leave the other in there?" Percy gestured behind him, suddenly angry.

The Titans furrowed their brows.

"What? Who? Jackson, there was no one else in there. We don't have time for this."

Percy blanked.

" _What_?"

A Guard Cyclops eyed him suspiciously. "There's no one else in there." It said. "Only one to a cell. Those are the rules."

"Great, now let's go." Krios said, grabbing the chain between Percy's wrists and tugging him roughly along, forced into a sprint that gnawed at his legs.

Percy let himself be pushed into a run, the Guard Cyclopes seemingly coming with them as they ran out the cell block gates, through the empty arena and out the huge main gates.

"Going mad, Jackson?" Koios panted with a crazy grin, turning to him.

Percy opened his mouth to respond, but then closed it.

He didn't know.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **I'm in Slovenia right now on like 5 hours of sleep for the past two days, it's pretty cool here, but my back is killing me and a lot of people here are hot. Going to Croatia tomorrow. Also I saw a girl so cute I tripped lmao.**

 **Also props to one of the last reviewers, you got it right, and to the reviewer who told me 'I hate you so much. Never stop writing', cheers mate I'll drink to that :)**


	43. Jason III

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while but I gOT MY GCSE RESULTS! I got five Bs, three As and three A*s! I thought I was gonna bit disappointed if I didn't get a 9 but tbh I just don't care, maybe it's the three shots of vodka we did beforehand. I did like maybe one hour of revision in total, wild. Got completely hammered afterwards and ended up kissing one of my best friends twice but she's cool with it which is only mildly alarming. I'm at college now, which is tiring and wild at the same time.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 43

Jason III

It was midnight, the stars shining unnervingly brightly over the camp.

Jason rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, not out of paranoia but still on guard. He stood by the burning fire pit on the edge of the camp, smaller fires dotted around the edges of the camps with the black shadows of his fellow sentires milling around in front of them. He listened to the gentle roar of the waves on the beach, a few feet away. The smell of salt was strong.

Smaller hands snaked over his eyes.

Had it not been for the whispered "Guess who?", Jason would have pulled out his sword on the spot.

Instead, he smiled softly.

"Not _here_ , Leo, Piper could see us."

The hands on his face slid off, and he turned round to see Piper grinning with her hands on her hips.

"Is that how it is, is it?" She mocked him.

Jason took her hand. She looked beautiful in the fire light. Every curve in the plaits in her hair was illuminated in bronze, and her eyes took the dancing flames and molded them into a tango of their own. Jason felt his chest fill up with love for her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked, still grinning.

"This is how I always look at you." Jason remarked.

"Yeah, but you look like you've got a concussion. Believe me- I know the expression by now."

"I just..." Jason trailed off, catching sight of her dagger, and smiled, remembering how she fought, all sharp spins and stabs, she didn't fight like a Roman, but they would welcome her in an instant. "I love you, you know?"

Piper's gaze turned soft and deep. She stepped into his embrace, tucking her head into his neck, her voice slightly muffled.

"Of course. And I love you more than anything. Why?" She pushed back suddenly, worry lining her face. "What's brought this on?"

"Nothing, nothing." Jason assured her quickly. "It's just... With everything Percy and Annabeth have gone through, what they've lost and how they keep missing each other. They don't get to say things like this. And- and I don't want that to be us. Whatever-"

Piper shook her head instantly in denial, but Jason carried on with emphasis.

"-Whatever happens in the next few days, or weeks, I just want you to know that, just in case."

Jason had been thinking about this for a while, ever since he had seen Percy react to Annabeth's dead body. There had been so much pain, and so much anger, Jason could feel it pulsing through the air in waves, and see it in the raw tears brimming Percy's twisting eyes. So much loss and grief. He didn't even seem to have felt his hand going through that window. Jason never wanted to feel that way, or for Piper to feel that way.

"No." Piper's voice shook. "I'm stopping you right now. You're not gonna die. And neither am I. You hear me?"

Jason stopped her with a kiss, unable to assure her. He knew too well that nothing was set in stone.

"Why are you here?" He added, not unkindly.

"Just wanted to keep you company, I know how lonely it can get out-"

A horrific scream tore from the camp.

Both demigods whipped round, weapons in hand in a flash.

"Oh my Gods!" breathed Piper.

Outlined against the sky, Jason saw a horn thicker than his head disturb the suddenly star-less black sky.

Oh no.

"Minotaur!" He heard Reyna bellow, her commanding voice easily distinguishable in the panic.

Jason blinked as Piper pressed a kiss to his lips firmly, before she dashed off to go help. He leapt after her, and together they sprinted into chaos, Piper immediately making a beeline for the ship.

Some tents were aflame, water troughs upended, demigods running about. In these moments it was clear to see the difference in Greeks and Romans, Jason thought, slashing at a smaller monster that the minotaur seemed to have brought along, a whole horde that were neither here nor there. While the Romans held back, delivering conducted strikes that left the beast howling, the Greeks were throwing themselves at it, slashes slowly filling up its tree trunk thick legs with red. It's movements weren't quite sluggish yet, and it whipped a hand through the air, narrowly avoiding heads.

Jason glanced towards the boat, to where the Gods were sat.

Some were stood, watching. A few looked concerned, or nervous. Others hadn't taken their eyes off the fire. He felt resentment cloud his head.

Hefting his sword into the air, a bolt of lightning sang down into the blade, enveloping it in a crackling blue.

The jolts of light crept over his wrist like vines, and he waited a few seconds before diving into the fray. He was hard to miss, all covered in electricity, and the minotaur followed him with ugly eyes. The other creatures scattered, and they let them go, too focused on the minotaur.

Jason dived, throwing himself towards a leg, driving his sword in satisfyingly deep. The monster roared as the electricity hit him, rapid flashes illuminating the faces of close demigods in flickers.

He tried to keep it in, but the leg writhed, and he was eventually kicked off, but not before a jar of fire hit the brute in the chest. Jason caught sight of Leo wielding another jar of Greek fire and grinned.

"Together!"

"You know it!"

The two best friends ran back, even demigod backing off, several even completely running away to go help put out fires instead. Jason appreciated that level of trust, that they would get the job done. Leo yelled as he threw with all his might, a burning spark in his dark eyes, the second jar of fire knocking the minotaur finally to its knees, as Jason threw his body upwards, the air currents supporting his flight as he drove the sword straight through its chest.

The minotaur went poof.

Enthusiastic cheers surrounded him as he dropped back to the ground, pats on his back, Leo looking both in his element and slightly uncomfortable at the same time.

However, Jason frowned.

"Something's not right." He muttered to Leo.

Leo glanced at him with wide eyes, and dropped his voice to a conspiring whisper.

"What do you mean?"

"It was just..." Jason shrugged. "Too easy?"

"Too easy." Leo repeated, disbelieving.

Normally, Jason would have responded but instead, he craned his neck round trying to spot something, anything. He knew he was unnerving Leo, who had begun to look too, trusting Jason's word. Jason couldn't really explain it. There was just a static in the dark air.

They met eyes and the same conclusion at the same time.

"The boat!"

They sprinted off in that direction. Jason's thoughts whirled. Annabeth hadn't been doing too well after Hades left, she got paranoid, had panic attacks at the slightest hint of water that left her furious with herself for being 'irrational'. She'd been grudgingly helped by some Morpheus kids to go to a restful sleep, Hazel keeping her company. She was still asleep on the boat as far as he knew. And Piper and Hazel were there with her.

They rounded the corner of a smoking tent.

"No!" Leo cried.

The Argo II sails were burning fiercely, and the pointy shadows of monsters leapt about like demons on top of it. The Gods were nowhere to be seen. They ran, as fast as they could, the fire siphoning off like raging whirlwinds to shoot into Leo's arms, leaving the hull charred and ashy.

"Leo! Take the top floors and put out fires! I'll look for them!" Jason shouted, a bit of the Praetor he used to be slipping out.

Leo didn't even bother to nod, scrabbling up the side. Jason went the other way, flying onto the main deck and heading below. He coughed, pushing as much smoke as he could out of the air. It was mainly smoke down below, Jason let himself feel a little relief that there didn't seem to be any more fires in this section.

He slammed into a door frame, scanning the room frantically before shoving himself off to look in the others.

A snarl from somewhere in front of him just made him run harder. If there were monsters down here...

He barely had enough time to catch himself as an empousai was forcefully kicked through an open door, slamming into the wall opposite.

A very awake and very angry Annabeth followed, sparing him a glance before finishing it off.

"Annabeth, where's-?"

"Behind me." She quickly confirmed. "She's hurt, but she should be fine."

Jason breathed a sigh of relief and worry, peering round just in time to see his girlfriend decapitate a monster. She instantly went up to hold her shoulder with a wince, the orange fabric dyed darkly under her red fingers.

"Pipes!" Jason cried, embracing her as tightly as he could without hurting her.

"I'm fine." She waved him off. "Nothing that won't heal with a bit of ambrosia."

Jason frowned a little, and tucked her head under his chin. He met Annabeth's eyes as he hugged Piper. She gave him a sad, tight smile, and looked away.

"Is there anyone else on here?" Jason asked.

Annabeth shook her head, still not looking at them. "Hazel went to go find Nico, she should be out there somewhere."

Jason nodded, concerned. "We should go find them too."

Annabeth finally looked up, about to agree. "I- duck!" She shouted instead.

Jason moved on muscle memory, tucking Piper under him as they crouched. Annabeth flung her dagger over his head so quickly it was a blur; he didn't even see her take it out.

"Move!" She cried, eyes wide enough for Jason to believe that whatever it was wasn't dead, and he knew if Annabeth couldn't kill something in one blow, it had to be strong.

Piper scrambled away, and he was on her heels, Annabeth holding the door to make sure they got past safe. It was almost cruel how much her determined expression resembled Percy's.

He slammed into the back of Piper as she stopped dead in her tracks.

" _Annabeth_!" She screamed behind her.

Jason turned to see Annabeth atop a large hulking shadow, hacking madly. Behind them, Jason paled as he caught sight of Frank's limp body. They turned to fight but it was over quicker than they anticipated, the monster using brute strength to slam his back against the wall several times. Annabeth's head hit the wall, once, twice, then the third time saw the lights out.

Annabeth slumped, laid down next to Frank. Their forms flickered.

Shadow travel, Jason thought, thundering down the corridor towards them, lightning arcing from his fingers to strike the shadow in its chest.

It howled, and collapsed into gold dust, but not before both Frank and Annabeth blurred out of existence.

Piper and Jason froze, her hands on his chest, mouth open in a gasp.

"Where have they gone?" He asked her, panicked.

She didn't answer him. She didn't know. He didn't either.

0o0o0o0

When Annabeth woke, it was to a pounding drum solo in the back of her head. She checked herself over without opening her eyes, twitching and tensing parts of her body. As far as she could work out, she had a wicked headache but was otherwise fine.

She squinted a bit, cracking her eyes open. She blinked a couple times and then sat up.

She was in the woods, or at least on the outskirts. A fine temple was on her right, soaring high, and she marvelled briefly at the design before looking around.

Next to her, slumped Frank. She checked him over, similarly finding little injuries other than the head wound. Strange. They'd clearly been brought here alive for a reason. She knew Gaia wanted her. So what was Frank? An extra? A mistake? Leverage? The answers swirled in her mind as she came to a conclusion. Percy's replacement. He had to be. If Percy wasn't here, then Frank would have to do as a sacrifice. She tried not to think about what that meant for her. She knew Gaia wanted strong demigod blood to raise her, it was why she went for Percy and her in the first place.

Annabeth roused him as fast as she could. She knew where they were now, could smell the sea salt mixed with the woodland atmosphere. Frank growled as he woke, blinking as she did, one of his hands shooting to hold his head.

"Concussion." She whispered. "Just breathe and try to stand with me."

She helped Frank to his feet eventually, trying to balance him even as he flitted between human and bulldog form.

"Good?" She gasped as she hauled him to his feet, a lancing pain shooting through her head as she staggered a little.

''Yeah," He said, clearly lying, "I'll be fine. Where are we?"

Annabeth frowned grimly.

"We're in Athens." She said, recognising the power in the place.

"Athens?"

Annabeth scanned the horizon.

"I think this is where Gaia is supposed to rise."

Frank paled at her words, but a crash in the trees cut any conversation off.

"Frank, go to a bug." She hissed, and he complied, landing as a grasshopper on her shoulder.

She pulled out her sword with a sinking stomach as the heavy crashing in the trees grew closer.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Yoyoyo it's ya boi I wrote this instead of revising for my A Levels hahaha yalls welcome please review I'm an absolute lover of reviews rlly I read em all (yes I got the spam from OGkush-OGskywalker last night, thanks buddy)**


	44. Percy XXVIII

**Yall I got infinity war on dvd and when I watched it in the cinema, I legit went into shock at the end, like I actually went pale and didn't speak for like a half hour I was so dramatic, anywho I just rewatched it and damn it was good. A little less good the second time around, but that's probably just me getting snotty cuz Steve wasn't in it more. He's my fave. He's just so *clenches fist* damn hot. Who's yalls favourite avenger?**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 44

Percy XXVIII

"Stop- _stop_ , please-!"

Percy gasped, ineffectually batted at the titan's rough hand wrapped around his chains as he dragged him across the floor, as he had been for the last few hours. He'd lost his pride _weeks_ ago, it felt like. Percy's knees were raw and bloody; apparently he wasn't travelling at a good enough speed.

Koios gave him a filthy look, and dropped him to the glassy floor, where a breath was knocked out of Percy.

"Your begging means _nothing_.'' he snapped.

They really weren't in a good mood with him.

Maybe it was that he threw off their plans completely. Or that he had turned the 'Owner' on them, forcing them on the run in their own home. Possibly could have been the number of anxiety attacks he'd had recently, leaving his heart slamming against his chest, unable to move let alone run, much to their disgust. But it was probably the constant attempts to kill them in their sleep, their moods just getting sourer and sourer as they had fled across Tartarus.

Percy longed for a McDonald's meal more than he longed to see the sun. The scraps they had given him were fatty raw hunks of meat, dripping a dark green blood, spidery black veins across it. Percy had gagged, but wolfed it down eventually. Rubbery and peppery, not as bad as it could have been.

"At least we're here." Krios grunted, leaning over to pick Percy up by the scruff.

Percy groaned, too tired to even fight as Krios dragged him over to the river bank.

"Hold on." Krios smiled nastily, and threw him in, keeping a thick finger hooked on his chains.

Percy half-landed in the river Phlegthon with a splash, and began to writhe under it's fiery surface as his lower half sank to the bottom. It burned, searing his deepest wounds, instant cauterisation. Even though his head was not under, Percy reminded himself he could breathe, forcing himself to take a deep breath.

He was yanked out several seconds later, left on the bank to gasp and twitch. The titans sat a little further away, smirking.

Percy hated them as much as he hated Gabe, if not more.

He had promised to himself, during those long nights in the cave and during these long nights on the run, killing any monsters they came across as to not reveal their location, that if he was gonna do anything down here, killing them would be his number one priority. They had tortured him, used him and nearly blinded him. His eye ached constantly at this point.

Percy had met a lot of gods and monsters he didn't like in his lifetime. Kronos, Phobos, hell, Zeus sometimes. He just didn't like bullies. Percy felt like he had spent most of his life standing up to punks at school, or, Hades, even in his own home, who had tried to frighten him and make him feel weird, or out of place as if he didn't belong there. The way Krios and Koios acted...he wanted desperately to knock them down a peg, or twenty.

He wanted to knock 'em down, _hard._ So they wouldn't get back up.

"So," he huffed, finally getting his breath back, "What now? More running? A little jogging? Bit of powerwalking?"

"If mother did not want you alive... the things I would do..." Koios told him quietly, hands flexing into fists.

Percy know he should hold his tongue.

"A shame," he said acidly instead, "I'm sure you would have had fun too."

Koios made to stand, but his brother yanked him back down. Percy curled his lip, strong enough to sit up now. The gashes on his legs were no more than red marks. He missed the Achilles blessing. He glanced around.

"How come there's no monsters in this bit?" he asked.

"They saw us. Or they saw you. Both. Word must have spread about the killings." Krios answered him.

"Huh." Percy wasn't sure what to make of that.

He slapped his arm suddenly, the hairs raising. Percy winced. He swore there was something on his arm a second ago. He kept feeling things on him, seeing blobs out the corner of his eyes, whispers in his ears. They'd be following him, or sneaking up behind him, or even crawling on his skin. It made him feel sick, especially when he would do a double take, and realise there was nothing. He refused to think about the Voice, and any implications it may have. Percy closed his eyes and exhaled, trying to just bring himself back together.

"Move." grunted Krios, who appeared suddenly behind him, hauling him up.

Percy staggered to his feet, pulling away sharply from the cruel titan.

"Get off of me." he spat.

The titan's hands curled into fists again, but he did nothing as they walked on. Percy's head tilted to the left, trudging with care. He listened closely. There was a familiar whooshing in the distance.

Sure enough, as the trio rounded the corner of a stalactite as big as a house, a churning darkness came into view in a gorge of volcanic rock. It was wicked fast. The water was black as ink, and even the foam churned black. The far bank was about 20 metres across, far darker and wider than when Percy had seen it in the underworld.

"It's the Lethe." Percy said. "Finally. Give me my sword."

Koios regarded him with a dry smirk.

" _Funny_." Koios drew out Percy's mangled bronze sword. "After what you did to Anteus, you're never getting armed again."

Percy scowled. They'd even taken Riptide from him, the sword gripped tightly in Krios' hand. So long as he walked close to him, it wouldn't return to his pocket. Percy glared even harder as Koios continued, sickeningly smug.

"I'd even like to take those chains off, after seeing what you did with them, but we're not stupid." Koios said, a protective hand coming down to rest on his belt, where the key was strapped, and Percy snorted derisively.

"Those chains block out the Godkiller. I'd rather not meet the same fate as that cyclops you tortured to death." Koios said, eyes burning into him.

Percy dropped his scowl, unable to keep staring him down. He couldn't even deny it. Tartarus... It had just done something to him. Down here... He didn't have to protect anyone but himself, didn't have to worry about hurting people accidentally as he fought. He could do what he wanted to without Gods getting up in his business. Percy hated Tartarus- oh he hated it more than anything, craving fresh air until he could physically feel the ache in his chest- and yet...

He hated what he did, what he had _done_ to survive, but he also, though he would never admit it, in the deepest and darkest parts of his soul...he liked it.

He liked how it made him someone to be feared. Avoided. He liked the safety it gave him. Before, the defeat of Kronos had made monsters aware of how far he would go to protect his friends, and his family. Now, down in Tartarus, what he had done had made monsters aware of how far he would go to _survive,_ to get back to said friends and family. Monsters knew now that he wasn't the same kid who would simply kill one of them, ready to be regenerated. No, now they knew him as a Godkiller- and they knew he would make it _hurt._ Who down here would judge him, interfere, or tell him to stop, other than himself?

Percy didn't like to think about it, but there was a certain freedom for him down here.

And wasn't that the most _ironic_ thing.

He looked up to see Krios ambling down to the Lethe, holding both bronze swords in his hands. Percy narrowed his eyes. _His_ swords.

As far as he was aware, Koios had his other sword, the drakon bone one.

Krios knelt on the high up edge of the river, leaning down to dip the sword in. It was a tall cliff edge, and Krios had to shuffle further, his arm and upper chest practically dangling off the edge as the leaned, the tip of the sword barely grazing the water.

Percy formed a vague plan in his head as he began to run.

Koios yelled, reaching out for Percy, who ducked and slid down the bank, sending a fresh cloud of blood red stones rolling down alongside him, landing in a roll, staggering to a sprint, Koios right on his heels.

Krios had no way to see it coming, still straining to reach the Lethe.

Percy's body jolted with every step, but his adrenaline swiftly covered it, giving him enough strength to grit his teeth, clench his muscles, and throw himself into a double-footed kick.

He hit Krios in the back with an impact that knocked the breath out of him, and sent Krios head over heels. Percy scrambled to turn over as a blur shot past him, Koios catching his brother by his forearm before he truly fell into the Lethe, chest flat against the edge, Krios' other arm scrabbling on the cliff for traction. Both Percy's swords fell to the edge of the bank as he stood, holding his ribs and wincing, a bubbling cut stretching across his right bicep.

"Hold on, brother!" Koios roared, going purple in the face as Krios flailed below, an inch above the water.

"Brother, pull me _up_!" Krios bellowed back over the deafening roar of the river.

Koios heaved, both hands wrapped around his brother's wrist, gaining maybe an inch before his chest slammed back onto the floor, armpits hooked over the edge and shaking at the weight.

"I cannot! You must climb!"

Percy watched from the side as Krios' feet scrabbled on the cliff face to find footholds, but Tyche had not blessed them today; the cliff side was slanting, and smooth, opaque black stones that shone with a malice of claiming another unfortunate victim.

Percy stepped forwards slowly.

Koios' head whipped round, his teeth gritted as he strained to keep his flailing brother out the river.

"You _stay_ where you are, Jackson! This is your fault!" he shouted viciously. "So help me, when I get my hands on you-"

Percy blocked him out; he could see it for what it truly was, as Koios' mad eyes flicked between Percy and the key that swayed on his belt.

Percy had to move quick.

Fast as a flash, Percy darted forwards, his hands reaching out to snatch the key from Koios' belt, pulling until the string attached to it snapped. Koios roared incoherently, thrashing his body around in an effort to kick Percy.

A foot hit Percy in the chest, and he flew back, coughing at the full force hit of an angry titan, his chest feeling shattered. He felt sick instantly, but pushed it away, getting to his knees gingerly.

The key was clenched victoriously in his bloody hand.

Percy slid it into the lock on his left hand.

He made eye contact with the grappling titans, stuck on the knife-edge of the cliff, both sets of eyes now wide and fearful, following his every move.

The titans shouted at him, curses and threats, straining at each other. Percy let himself smile at them, not exactly cruel but not exactly nice.

He twisted the key, and the cuff sprang off him.

A coolness shot up his arm, leaving pins and needles in its wake. Percy gasped, falling back onto his haunches, breathing deeply. It was like being plunged into a cold pool; at first, the shock takes the breath away, the body shaking, goosebumps rising. It was like a very concentrated hiss of icy air shooting through his arm, and Percy held it close as the feeling spread through his chest, down his legs, up his neck and into his head, where he closed his eyes, and let the power run through him. And, like a pool, it began to warm up, he began to get used to it. Soon it became a balm of sorts, refreshing. It finally washed up at the fingertips of his other hand, rolling smoothly under and over his skin. Once the power of one cuff was negated, it was clear that the other was nothing more now than a thick and bloody bracelet with a chain trailing behind it.

Percy breathed out deeply, letting his eyes slide open.

Tartarus was pitch black.

Percy blinked a couple more times, exceptionally confused. He raised a hand, waved it in front of his face. Nothing. He couldn't see a thing, like there was a blindfold over his vision.

Percy tensed, not daring to move. He could still feel the river (and that feeling alone was a blessing to have back), feel the ichor of the titans too, somewhere close, as if they hadn't moved. As Percy shifted, he felt Riptide finally return to his back pocket, and drew it out, still staring unblinkingly into the void surrounding him.

" _Interesting_."

It was a hollow voice, that seemed to surround him yet be right in front of him at the same time.

Somehow, the air around him darkened further, before it solidified, sucking the darkness into one focused place, until the hazy redness of Tartarus reappeared, and Percy could see the titans and the river and the mountains again.

Percy didn't dare breathe.

The being that appeared was so massive, radiating such pure malevolence, that if Percy was standing, he knew his knees would have given out.

He forced his eyes to trace the primordial God's form, starting with his black iron boots, each one as large as a coffin. His legs were covered in dark greaves; his flesh all thick purple muscle, like the ground. His armored skirt was made from thousands of blackened, twisted bones, woven together like chain links and clasped in place by a belt of interlocking monstrous arms.

On the surface of the warrior's breastplate, murky faces appeared and submerged— sunken outlines of giants, Cyclopes, gorgons, and drakons—all pressing against the armor as if it were paper thin, and they were trying to get out, deep dips revealing eyes and mouths all twisting as if they were screaming.

The warrior's arms were bare—muscular, purple, and glistening—his hands as large as crane scoops.

Worst of all was his head: a helmet of twisted rock and metal with no particular shape—just jagged spikes and pulsing patches of magma. His entire face was a whirlpool—an inward spiral of darkness.

Percy swallowed, feeling as if he had lost his voice entirely, as if it had dropped out of his body.

"Tartarus." he said quietly, not taking his eyes off him.

The primordial God inclined his swirling head, and Percy knew instantly this was the Owner.

"The ' _Godkiller_ ' my sister has informed me of." he replied, his voice making Percy's stomach churn.

He lowered his arm limply, unable to stop Riptide hitting the glassy floor with a clatter.

The titans had stopped struggling; they were still straining, but both had frozen on the spots.

"This form is, of course, only a small manifestation of my power," Tartarus said. "But it will suffice for you. I do not interfere for just any reason. It is beneath me to deal with gnats such as demigods. Even the Olympians never warranted such attention. But you... My sister has taken a liking to you-"

Percy let himself feel a flicker of hope, but it quickly twisted away.

"I hate my sister." Tartarus said coldly.

The god of the pit flexed his fingers, examining his own polished black talons. He had no expression, but he straightened his shoulders as if he were pleased.

Then he backhanded Percy across towards the Lethe.

Percy flew through the air, flipping like a gymnast, landing in a heap on the floor with a groan. But he had his power back now, and so he got up quickly, a tinge of anger diffusing into his fear.

"Why do you not disintegrate?" Tartarus mused. "You are nothing."

A hand curled around his ankle, and Percy's head shot down, wrenching his foot out of Krios' dead man grip. The titan was still flailing on the edge. They made eye contact, and Percy's anger hit him all at once with the force of a small truck.

"-ease," came a whisper from Krios as his feet madly kicked out beneath him. "Please."

Percy looked him dead in the eye.

He reached into his pocket, and withdrew Riptide. Both Koios and Krios recoiled, struggling harder than ever.

"Please! _Please_!"

Percy shut out Koios, he shut out his surroundings, he even shut out Tartarus, who was watching with a vague interest. All Percy saw were the whites of Krios' eyes as he pleaded.

His hand shot out again, almost as if to drag Percy down with him. Percy stamped on it, lining his sword up with his other arm, where Koios strained desperately, Percy's arms shaking with anger at the titans, at himself, at the whole damned situation.

If Tartarus was to kill him, right here, and right now, he was damn sure he was gonna take as many of these murderous and vicious titans as he could.

"Your begging means _nothing_.'' Percy hissed coldly, throwing his words back at him.

Krios' eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to scream.

Percy swung down, his powers already flowing out of his fingertips to push around the ichor in Krios' veins, almost carelessly, making it easier to-

Percy sliced into Krios' wrist, and severed completely through it, hot ichor spraying up and over his face and body.

Krios bellowed for a mere second before he landed with a splash in the Lethe. He resurfaced a second later, floating as the river took him downstream, a vague and blank look in his once furious and fearful eyes.

He was gone, a fate worse than death.

Percy spat a mouthful of the burning ichor to the floor.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Wasn't this a fun chapter, I'll try to update real soon yall. We boutta have some big ass reunion probably idk, I've told yall before, I have legitimately no plan for this fic, it's the epitome of making it up as you go along. It's better that way tbh, I have more freedom to change the story whenever I want.**

 **REVIEW PLEASE!**

 **lovemesomegoddamnreviews**


	45. Percy XXIX

**So I'm at college rn, and in my direct eyeline I can see: someone plugging their laptop charger into the socket on the ceiling, a litre bottle of coke, four people screaming at the football table, and someone slamming their hand into the vending machine looking close to a mental breakdown. I've taken a half hour nap today and drawn aliens on my psychology booklet help.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 45

Percy XXIX

Koios snatched wildly at Percy, who jumped back as the titan got to his feet, practically vibrating with anger.

"My brother!" Koios roared.

He threw Krios' still severed arm to the side. It turned into dust as soon as it hit the floor, and the titan started towards Percy, scooping up Percy's drakon bone sword in his hand. The celestial bronze sword lay discarded on the ground, and Koios was momentarily distracted as he stared at the blade, that had darkened considerably since touching the Lethe.

His hesitation seemed to annoy Tartarus, and the primordial strode forwards, snapping his head up.

"I do believe _Titankiller_ would now be a better name." Tartarus remarked darkly, reaching out a large hand to grab Percy around the waist.

Percy reacted on instinct.

He took a step back, the edge of his foot hanging precariously off the edge of the cliff, the Lethe bubbling furiously beneath, and reached out a hand, that twisted and slowly clenched in the air.

Tartarus stopped.

Percy winced internally. While he could feel some vague sense of ichor, he had absolutely _no_ control over it.

Tartarus had not stopped because of him, and even as Percy strained so hard his eyes began to hurt, Tartarus did nothing but stand there.

"My child, I assure you, you cannot stop me. You have mighty power for a demigod, and I'm sure my children and grandchildren are well within your grasp to slaughter as you please. But you cannot kill me. Not in my area of expertise, which is," Tartarus gestured around vaguely, "Well, everywhere."

"You think you have power over _me_? You do not. You could never defeat me here, I doubt even Chaos themself could put me down." Tartarus began to advance on him slowly, and Percy found himself teetering on the edge.

"I was there when the first monsters began to crawl. I was there to shape them, craft and twist them into creatures of blood and malice and death. I gave them fangs, claws, poisons and powers. Skin as impenetrable as metal, and ichor in their veins, flowing fast and thick, able to make the flesh of mortals melt off like water."

Percy felt his knees waver as he stared directly into Tartarus' whirling face of death, but stayed standing.

"These monsters kill, and torture, and laugh. They make demigods and gods alike beg in their last moments, on their knees."

Tartarus paused.

"It is _always_ the gods who beg first." He hissed, with such quiet power that Percy's heart skipped a beat.

"And you stand here, in my domain," Tartarus said, growing larger every second it seemed, "in my own body, the first to lay eyes on my corporeal form in a millenia, and you dare to challenge the one who taught each and every single monster those acts?"

Percy didn't know what to say to that. What was there to even say?

His eyes flickered to the side, where Koios was inching further away, his face pale and sunken in fear. Percy wondered if he looked like that himself.

Tartarus' head moved an inch to the side, seemingly observing the titan as well. The stare dropped to the sword on the floor.

"Oh, that's _interesting_." Tartarus said, backing off, finally letting Percy breathe out.

Tartarus stepped just before Koios, who recoiled several inches.

"This sword," Tartarus began, "What have you _done_ to it?"

Percy blinked, moving away from the Lethe bank ridge. He looked at his twisted bronze sword, once Kelli's leg. His brow furrowed and he looked at it again.

It was no longer the mess it once was. The spikes of warped bronze had flattened and smoothed over, darkening to pitch black, a melted red colour in places. There was an odd glow to it, as if it had shadows all around it. One side of the blade was now longer than the other, resulting in a diagonal tip at the end of the narrower blade, regal yet razor sharp. Percy found himself drawn to it, walking forwards.

"Incredible." Tartarus breathed next to him.

"What's happened to it?" Percy asked, practically forgetting who he was with.

"You tell me." Tartarus replied. "It smells familiar."

Percy frowned thoughtfully. What smelt like Tartarus? Everything smelt like Tartarus down here, the clouds, the rocks, the rivers. Like a cross between the metallic stench of blood and Gabe's breath. Percy pulled a face, slightly unsure, as some pieces connected in his head.

"I... I think it's been in all five rivers down here. Like the sword itself." Percy said. "I melted parts of it together in the Phlegthon to make it... I must have still had the water of the Cocytus when I took it in the first place... I fell into the Styx with it when I got my blessing... When I crossed the Acheron, I couldn't control it for long, little drops hit me every now and then... And it was just dipped into the Lethe by Krios. Why?" Percy turned to Tartarus. "Why has it changed?"

"It has been so long... I thought it would never be fulfilled." Tartarus said, facing away from both Koios and Percy.

"There was once talk among myself and my siblings, before all the nonsense with our children and grandchildren. Of a weapon, forged below the depths of the underworld itself, burnished in the five rivers of death."

"We speculated... We never made it ourselves in case it was used against us... But the things we suspected a weapon like that could do... Soul destruction. Scattering. Energy channeling. As if the mere sight of it could drive away enemies." Tartarus snorted humourlessly, and Percy felt an icy chill run down his spine.

It sounded like something he had heard before, and it was confirmed as Tartarus continued.

"Only one of our children knew of this."

At this, Tartarus unsheathed his sword and slowly turned around.

"And he was given a scythe." He said.

Percy didn't move.

Of course.

Kronos.

Gaia had made it for him, only she could have known how to make a weapon that powerful.

"What Kronos' mortal host described as steel and bronze was actually Adamantine, the unbreakable metal that the gates of Tartarus themselves are forged with. That sword there should not exist." Tartarus pointed to it with disgust. "Adamantine, the Greeks called it, _Adamas_ , meaning 'untameable'. Uncontrollable. Limitless."

"The last weapon like that destroyed _Ouranous_." Tartarus mused.

No one moved for a few seconds.

They were locked in a stare-off, the Adamantine sword in the middle of the triangle. So that was it's name, Percy reflected. Adamas, uncontrollable, like Anaklusmos, riptide.

Koios raised his hands slowly in a placating manner. Both Tartarus and Percy looked at him with hatred. The titan quailed under their glares, but carried on regardless, though his voice broke a little.

"Now, now, there's no need to do all of this. I've dealt with Kronos before, I'm sure that we can find a way to-"

Both Tartarus and Percy saw it coming, and lunged too.

It was a mad grab of hands, claws, and shifting terrain.

Koios' fingers curled around it first, and Tartarus pulled back his sword.

Percy held out a fist and clenched.

Koios' arm came up to block the blow, and his wild eyes met Percy's.

"No-" Koios choked, but Percy closed his mouth for him.

Tartarus swung again, and Percy pulled Koios out of the way.

He was controlling Koios' body, like a puppet on a string, each movement syncing up to his own.

As Percy parried, Koios parried, mimicking his movement, a sick little dance they did together as the primordial God attacked, the Lethe roaring louder and louder on one side, dust pouring down the glassy black cliffs on the other, and the haze of red smoke growing thicker above.

The strain in Percy's skull was intense, eyes burning, body aching.

Tartarus had not taken a body in so long, he wasn't defeatable, nowhere close, but he was fightable, and fight him Percy did.

He could tell Tartarus thought this would be easy, swinging his heavy sword around, ready to disarm Koios, but he'd be damned if he was going down without a fight, and, Hades, when had he ever made anything easy?

Percy swung an arm out, and Koios mirrored him, slicing Adamas through the air, Tartarus jumping backwards.

Tartarus kicked Koios in the chest, a blow that would have shattered Percy's rib cage but only made the titan stumble, locked firmly under Percy's control.

It was a spectacle to behold.

Tartarus, face twisting and howling, bringing his thick and dangerous sword down again and again and again, the faces in his armour pressed against it and screaming their throats out, the primordial moving as fluidly as the torturous rivers that the blood soaked cavern around them contained.

But right next to him was Koios, his frantic eyes rolling in his head as Percy commandeered his body, forcing him to contort and strike, on the defence but never on the run, thick arms leaking ichor from where he was struck rising and falling like the tide, swinging Adamas in a style that echoed how his younger brother Kronos wielded such a weapon of death.

Their swords clashed and sang, flashing bare with clangs like thunder.

Percy was panting now, sweat dripping out of every pore, duelling with a ferocity that was equally matched. The longer they fought, the more accustomed to his body Tartarus would get; Percy had to end it but controlling Koios was all he could do, every muscle in his body screaming.

He could see the toll it was taking on Koios; liquid gold dripped out of his eyes, his ears, his nose and mouth. He hadn't opened his eyes in several long minutes. Controlling such a large body as Koios felt like Percy was fighting in a suit of armour on stilts.

The two locked blades, pushing with enough force to level a mountain, and Percy was right there with them _straining_ , clenching his teeth as he yelled.

The two swords shook, and Percy focused on Adamas, feeling every inch of the blade soaked in the rivers, dripping with ichor he had put there, his own blood as well, and a wetness trickled rapidly out his nose as he pushed one layer of water to the surfaced.

Adamas glowed a fiery orange, the Phlegthon crawling for dominance over all the others, and the sword glowed.

A hissing noise filled the cliff edge, shaking the boulders that framed their battle, and it began to slowly sink into the sword of Tartarus, like acid eating away at it.

Tartarus pulled back, ripped his sword away, and Adamas swung down, slitting a tiny line across Tartarus' armour and a feather light cut into the skin beneath, a couple drops of black ichor falling onto the sword.

Smoke began to pour out, and Percy pushed Koios to the side as the smoke began to manifest around them, taking the familiar forms of the faces Percy had seen imprisoned in Tartarus' armour.

Tartarus lifted his sword, preoccupied with the enemies of his past, roaring as he ripped through them, but they were appearing as quickly as he could kill them, millenniums of rivals waiting to escape and get revenge.

Percy glanced to Koios, whose eyes were now slightly open, but not focusing.

The power had been too much, and Percy had already invaded his body throwing around his ichor carelessly to make him obey his commands. On some level pushed far down, Percy knew he should feel guilty, ashamed, even _horrified_ at his actions.

But he didn't.

Percy took one look at the broken and soulless titan below him, still choking a little on his own ichor, who had tortured him, dragged him across Tartarus in chains, and forced him to fight for his life, and he just felt satisfied.

No happiness, no remaining bloodthirst, just pure and raw satisfaction.

His eyes swept over the brutalised titan, and he nodded to himself. It was done.

Anyone who ever said that revenge doesn't make someone feel better _lied_.

The ichor spreading rapidly below his body probably meant he'd be dead soon anyway. Percy certainly wasn't going to put him out of his misery.

He pulled Adamas out his limp grip, and his drakon bone sword, took one look at the brain dead titan and the slashing primordial still bellowing his name, turned, ran, and leapt off the side of the cliff.

The Lethe caught him, and Percy quickly made it so he wouldn't lose his memories, swimming quickly to the other bank, and he began sprinting.

He made it to the Lethe.

It should be around here.

Thanatos should have put the elevator _here_.

Percy felt sick as he kept running, parts of the rocks shooting out like razor sharp stalagmites, probably Tartarus trying to trap him while he dealt with his demons, but Percy slid under it, just kept running.

It suddenly hit him how stupid this was. He was relying on the gods, yet again. And were they here? No. Would they ever just be reliable for once? He was overly aware that if he couldn't find the elevator, he would most certainly die. Would he come back, in a golden bubble, another monster like the rest of them?

Percy dodged a flying shard of glass, and changed direction, heading right, trying to get out of the direct eyeline of Tartarus. Gods sake, where _was_ it?

He didn't know if he could keep running: he was in so much pain, so much exhaustion, he felt black dots crowding around the edges of his eyes, molding with the tears that sprung up out of sheer frustration and fear.

He couldn't die.

He _couldn't_.

Not now.

He could hurt Gaia with this sword. He could make her bleed. And whatever could bleed could die. And then he'd be free. Free to grab Annabeth and his mum and his friends and go to Alaska for a month or two. No gods, no monsters, no nothing.

Percy cried out in anger as he met a cliff face that seemed to stretch forever. Behind him, stalactites and stalagmites shot out of everywhere, pinning him in, trapping him, like easy prey.

"No!" Percy punched the cliff, "No, no, no, no, _no_!"

This couldn't be the end, it couldn't. He tucked his drakon bone sword through his belt loop, taking out Riptide, the warm glow making him want to throw up for the first time. He glanced over his shoulder, just as a large red stalagmite erupted from the ground about a foot away, needle sharp.

Percy breathed in.

Then, with a battle cry, he drove Adamas straight into the cliff face.

A cry echoed in the far distance, then very faint but thundering footsteps of something coming, not that Percy could see much through the thorny maze that was still sprouting around him, nearly blocking out the already limited light.

He drove Riptide into the stone too, and pulled himself up, every nerve in his body searing in white hot pain.

He breathed out.

He could do this.

After all, he'd done it before.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Oh man I'm actually so bummed rn, my teacher finally emailed me back my results for English, and I was two marks off a 9! Two! Marks! But because she emailed me back so late, I've missed the deadline for the remarks. Don't get me wrong, an 8 is lovely, but a 9... A 9 implies sheer perfection. That power is delicious, ladies. Alas. Not for me :(**

 **Also yall I got so drunk last night I: broke a spoon, kissed probably more than three people, blew a blood vessel in my eye, bruised my entire self and did the cha cha slide. Didn't throw up either, I can hold my liquor like a champ.**


	46. Frank II

**Hey hey hey yall, here's the new chapter. So I was browsin around, and the longest percy jackson fic I could find was like 415k words, yikes, there goes my plan to write the longest one, I reckon by the time I'm done this'll be like only 100k words? I've been editing a little bit in the first few chapters to boost it up a lil tho.**

 **Spencerdorman: tbh mate I don't even know how much 900lbs is, I just threw in a big number, I'll go adjust it, ta, n thanks for all the reviews buddy**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 46

Frank II

A furious looking cyclops burst through the trees, and Annabeth's dagger protruded out of its eye before it could even blink.

Or was it wink?

"My eye!" screamed the cyclops, falling to his knees with a crash that shook several branches to the floor.

Annabeth strode forwards, a resolute look on her face. She had thrown her dagger so fast that all Frank had seen was a blur. He popped back into human form, stepping towards the cyclops.

"Are we in Athens?" Annabeth interrogated the cyclops, who was hitting the earth with his hand and sobbing. "Hey!"

"I don't know, I don't know-" the cyclops babbled, "I was just sent here, they wouldn't even let us go _sightseeing_ , oh my eye, my _eye_!"

Frank saw Annabeth roll her eyes.

He glanced around their surroundings. If Annabeth said it was Athens, he had no choice but to believe her. He had _no_ idea were they were. It was a dense jungle-like thicket of trees on one side. Vines dripped down the plants, curling like snakes on the dry floor. Bare streams of golden sunrise light shone in through tiny breaks in the canopy, and despite the cyclop's heavy panting, it was deathly silent, the lack of birdsong hovering in the air. Frank shifted nervously. It was like each tree was watching him.

To the other side of him, a mighty temple kind of thing stood tall, thick pillars rising in what he guessed was a rectangle shape, cracked stones resting on top with the age of a millenia. Frank gulped a little; this had to be where Gaia would rise, like Annabeth had said. And that meant he and Annabeth were here to be sacrificed.

Frank wasn't stupid; he knew Percy was more powerful than him, that there was a reason Gaia wanted his blood to raise her. But he wasn't here. He was off doing gods know what as his task to bring back Annabeth. So that meant he was the back up.

He was brought back down to earth by the howl of the cyclops.

Annabeth had yanked her dagger out, and the cyclops pitched forwards, clutching his eye and kicking his legs.

"My _eye_!"

"Annabeth, what do we do?" Frank asked her, ignoring the cyclops.

Annabeth put on her thinking face.

"We should go incognito." she said eventually, deep in thought. "You be a bug again or something, I'll go invisible, we scope out as much as we can, see if we can prevent Gaia's rise before they even come close to starting."

Frank nodded at her words. If there was a chance they could end this war before it got any worse, they needed to take it.

"What if one of us gets caught?" Frank asked, a little worried.

Annabeth shrugged. "Shout out a word."

"Like what?" Frank asked.

"Like..." Annabeth started, still thinking, "It's gotta be obscure in case a cyclops imitates our voices."

Frank's eyes darted to the left, where the cyclops lay, in pain but clearly listening. Annabeth caught his eye, and frowned.

Frank guessed she was thinking of a way to use a fake word as a distraction, but it looked like they came to the same conclusion, that it was better to carry on completely unnoticed, as she sank to her knees and fluidly stabbed the cyclops in the heart, pushing with all her weight to get past the thick skin.

The cyclops burst into a puff of gold, and Annabeth rose quickly, a glint in her eye.

"Okay, so- safe word." she started.

The corner of Frank's mouth twitched and Annabeth deadpanned, though he could see her mouth twitching. Frank tried to compose himself, and stood a little straighter to convince her he was listening. Annabeth was scarily similar to Reyna sometimes.

"It has to be a completely random word-" Annabeth cut herself off and a devious look spread across her face. "That's it. The word is... _word_."

"Word?"

"You know, like how people used to set 'password' as their password but then everyone found out about it. Like that. You get in trouble or captured, just shout 'word'."

"Okay.'' Frank said, politely bewildered, but seeing the logic in it.

"Right. We should split up. You take this area and around, I'm going to go straight into the temple. Keep an eye out for any demigods, ones they could sacrifice and anyone coming to help us."

"Got it." Frank said, and Annabeth nodded once before pulling out a Yankees cap and vanishing from sight.

Frank looked around, putting his sword back into the sheath, and wandered out of the woods, until he was on a slight drop, overlooking both the temple and the beach a little further away. Now that he was out of the woods, he could hear waves, and it sounded reassuring.

He needed to get a bird's eye view, so without hesitating he shifted forms, skin melting into feathers.

Shooting high above everything, Frank knew he would have felt awe if it weren't for the threat of impending death.

The whole place was beautiful.

Huge grey-brown mountains surrounded the little temple and beach, dry grass dusting the tops. There were various stones scattered about, warm as the sun got higher in the bright sky. The few clouds that he could see were thin and pale white. The bay itself had fine pale grains of sand, the air dancing in waves above it from the heat.

Frank soared down and dipped his falcon wing into the incredibly blue sea, trying to see any goings on beyond the startlingly white cliffs.

He couldn't see any monsters, and it was unsettling him. Shouldn't this place be crawling with monsters?

Frank landed on a rock on the beach, sharp eyes flicking around uneasily.

It was only thanks to his amazing birdlike sense of hearing that he heard it: a heavy metallic clank, coming from the temple.

He knew Annabeth was checking it out, but his area was clean, and he felt like he should investigate. He flapped his wings hard, pushing himself into the air, and arced his way over to the sandy monument.

As he flew over a corner pillar, Frank almost fell out the air, diving down to hide in a gap, catching sight of a pair of giants in the middle of the courtyard type part of the temple, open air but still surrounded by columns.

It looked like Polybotes, and some other giant, maybe Enceladus, banes of Poseidon and Athena respectively. They were wrapping dark and smoky chains around two car sized hunks of rock in the middle of the rectangle, dust being kicked up under their huge feet, deep in conversation.

"-oon." Enceladus was saying, "We need to get everyone up here by the time all the demigods arrive. Keep an eye out for the daughter of Athena Annabeth Chase. Her intellect is not too far off my own, probably surpassing that of Athena." He spat the Goddess' name with disgust.

"And Jackson?" Frank winced at the hatred in Polybotes voice at his friend. "Mother has promised that if he survives the sacrifice, he is mine to keep."

"Jackson is a loose cannon." Enceladus replied. "He is... annoyingly unpredictable, and too powerful for his own good. Kronos should have recruited him at an earlier age, he was a fool."

Polybotes clearly wasn't listening, his hands stroking the chains with a reverence that made Frank's stomach flip.

"I've decided that after we win, I am going to take him down to the very bottom of the Mariana Trench, fulfill what I promised him. I will take him prisoner, torture him under the sea. Every day the water will heal him, and every day I will bring him closer to death."

Frank narrowed his eyes, resisting the urge to attack the giant.

"I think I will just kill the Chase girl." Enceladus mused. "Too smart to stay alive. The both of them will be leading the demigods, they are the natural leaders. Take them down, the rest will follow."

Polybotes scowled, tightening the chains. "I sent my minion to look around their camp, possibly bringing back any demigods, but he hasn't come back."

"Then we have to presume he's been killed." the other titan replied.

Frank glanced to the side, his piercing eyes catching sight of a stone shifting by itself. That had to be Annabeth. The stone moved again, to the left again and again. The two giants didn't notice, still waxing poetic about what they were going to do to Percy and Annabeth in a way that made Frank's stomach flip. The stone rolled through two pillars, out of sight, and Frank hopped off his stone ledge, flapping down.

He followed the stone for a little while until it disappeared round a corner. As soon as he went round, Annabeth swam into view, biting her lip, stone in hand. Frank shifted to human.

"We won't let them." he told her, guessing at what she was worrying about.

"Like Hades they will," Annabeth nodded determinedly. "But that's not what I'm thinking about. Did you find anything around the area?"

Frank shook his head. "Nothing. Really, nothing at all."

But Annabeth just nodded like she expected it. "They said they needed to get everyone up here by the time that we all arrived. _Up_ here. I reckon they're all underground. Hundreds of Greek buildings had underground passages for seiges or illegal transport. This isn't a temple; it's an Acropolis."

Frank looked at the ground uncomfortably. "You mean they're under us?"

Annabeth nodded. "Probably nearly every monster fresh out of Tartarus. Certainly every giant. We're going to need a God with each of us if we're to beat them. And most importantly- don't bleed."

Frank frowned a little. They'd have to wear some pretty high intensity battle armour for the final fight. Maybe Leo could work together with some Mars kids and make some skin-tight feather-light armour.

"Come down to the beach with me." she said. "We should Iris Message the others."

They took the gentle slope down towards the beach, and Annabeth fished a drachma out that had been crammed into her self-enlarged pockets. Frank shifted into a bird again, and flapped his wings in the water until a fine mist was in the air, the midday sun shining through it. As soon as a rainbow appeared, Annabeth tossed the coin in.

"O Goddess of the rainbow, show me Piper McLean in Epirus, Greece!" she called.

The image flickered, flashing three of four times, and soon Frank was staring at Piper's face.

The daughter of Aphrodite blinked.

"Annabeth!" she yelled, and the wide eyed face of a punk girl popped into view, hair black as night with startlingly blue eyes that Frank swore he'd seen before.

" _Annabeth_!" the girl repeated.

"Thalia? What are you doing there?" Annabeth grinned in surprise, seemingly knowing her.

"Lady Artemis finally called us in after she heard you'd been taken and Percy had vanished again." Thalia's silver circlet shifted on her head as she tried to lean in further to see them.

"Did anyone tell you that he-" Annabeth began.

"Fell into Tartarus?" Thalia replied grimly. "Yeah. Absolute kelp head, I'm gonna kick his _ass_ when he turns up."

Frank raised his eyebrows. He had no idea who she was, but she seemed very familiar with Percy and Annabeth.

Annabeth snorted. "Me too. Anyway, we're okay, but I reckon we're in Athens. We're next to a massive Acropolis near a beach and some mountains."

Piper nodded in the background. "Everyone's packing up anyway. The attack spurred everyone into action, the tents are all being put down. I'll give Leo your description, we should come find you soon. Just hold tight."

The girl Thalia glanced at Frank as Piper vanished.

"Oh- hi." he said suddenly. "I'm Frank, son of Mars. I'm one of the Seven."

"Thalia Grace." she replied, and Frank instantly knew she'd have a strong handshake. "Lieutenant of Artemis, daughter of Zeus."

If he had to describe her, he'd have no other word to use but impressive; he could absolutely see similarities between her and Annabeth as they continued to chat and fill each other in. He noted that she put her title before her godly parenthood, and his opinion of her increased.

He glanced in the background of the Iris Message. In the grassy plain they'd set up in, he could see tents being folded up, demigods sharpening their swords on their boats, and the slightly charred Argo II hovering in the background. Well armed girls in silver jackets milled about, some helping demigods, others turning their noses up at them, especially the boys.

Piper ran back into the picture. She blew out a breath before lifting her head.

"We've got a general location, and Leo seems pretty sure that you're there, he hacked into a satellite or something. Are there any monsters there?"

Annabeth nodded. "Two giants out in the open, but Pipes... there's an army below us, in the tunnels. We're gonna try to find the opening tunnels, block as many off as we can so they can't surround us."

Thalia nodded. "Sounds good. Stay safe."

Annabeth bid them goodbye, wafting a hand through the message to cut it off.

"Right." she said, lifting her dagger. "Let's go."

The two demigods walked back along the cliff, feeling for any gaps that could conceal passages, unaware of the eyes that watched them with a malicious glint.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Whooooo. Hey guys guess what I just got asked out on a date. WACK. I'll update you asap, we're going ice skating, I have no idea if I like him or not, especially as accidentally beat him at chess twice in a row, but hey let's give it a go.**

 **Ugh I'm trying work out how to do part of the final battle, I've got two possible scenarios but there's no way to merge them, it's cray cray idek.**


	47. Percy XXX

**Oof, date was... Well it was a good date, just with the wrong person. Or maybe the wrong gender. Yall I ain't even knowing at this point, maybe I'm just fully girls who knows. Either way, I'm letting the dude down as gently as I can.**

 **Ok so: this chapter is gon be WACK. Oh, and Faith? If you're reading this? STOP. (My BFFF found this and she is READING it) Bro ily xoxo.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 47

Percy XXX

Ichor dribbled into Percy's eye, and he shook his head furiously to the side, heaving himself up another foot with a drawn out groan.

Panting heavily, Percy glanced down. Oh _Gods_. His head swam at how far up he was.

He was several thousand feet in the air; he couldn't see the black ground anymore, all he could see was the stalagmites sticking out a couple metres down, waiting to break both his fall and his spine. The red clouds that hung over Tartarus were at eye level, pure darkness lurking everywhere else.

Percy gasped as he drove Adamas into the rock again, his legs kicking in the dead air beneath him.

Another cry echoed in the distance.

Percy knew he would be dead by now if it wasn't for his new sword. Every time he stabbed his surroundings, the rock spikes chasing him seemed to hesitate, the red clouds get thicker; he was stabbing the body of Tartarus himself and slowing him down.

Though the idea of the pit being the body of Tartarus made him physically ill, for once he was grateful, for he knew that Tartarus would kill him in a split second if he stopped moving.

Percy scrabbled up another meter or so before heaving a sigh of relief as he looked up. He swung his sword arm and stabbed deeply into one of the few ledges sticking out of the rock face he was scaling, like rest breaks; they were a couple meters wide, and had sheer drops on every side but upwards.

He pulled himself up, rolled onto the small platform and ducked instantly as a scythe swung his way.

He lunged to the side, lashing out with his sword in a defensive arc, a vengeful looking God stood opposite him. He was twirling his silver scythe in the air with a teeth-baring grin.

"Where do you think you're going?" He cackled, "The only way forward from here is up, but there's no way out from there. And there are plenty more of us waiting for you."

He swung out at Percy, who slid underneath the weapon, smoothly twisting on his knees to slash into the back of the God's knees.

The God howled, staggering and dropping to the floor, scythe clattering away.

Percy stepped forwards and kicked it off the side, plummeting down below and out of sight. He glanced over the edge of the cliff warily and saw a flash of black far down below. He gulped, getting ready to climb once again after he dealt with the God.

"Looking- looking for _that?"_ the God chuckled weakly from the ground, pointing a finger in the direction of the Lethe Percy had left behind.

Percy looked as quickly as he could, sword still raised, and blinked as the black lift of Hades swam into view like a heat mirage, sitting far down below by the bank of the river he had just left.

Hades hadn't left him to die.

It was right there waiting for him.

The God gave a wracking laugh from where he was sprawled at his expression.

"It- it was right by you the entire time! Covered in mist! You-" the God was shaking in laughter, pulling on his black hair maniacally, "-you walked straight by it, too busy destroying Koios' mind to notice!"

Percy stared at the lift. His only way out was all the way over there.

He couldn't go back, not now, not without Tartarus getting him, or breaking every bone in his body by climbing and no doubt falling down. The nearest river was too far away to summon; by the time it would reach him, the Primordial God would be on him. Percy's breathing grew quicker.

The God next to him was struggling to his feet, golden ichor weeping from the backs of his knees and down his legs. Percy didn't even know his name, but the smugness in his orange eyes told him everything he needed to know, for what he was going to do.

"You- you're going to die down here." the God said. "If I don't get you, there are a thousand more who will."

Percy watched him carefully as the God staggered in pain, knees weak from where Percy had no doubt sliced tendons.

"You have to realise, _no one_ is coming for you." he continued. "No one will save you at the last minute or pull you out of a difficult situation. There's no rescue mission being sent, or even some help. No one would dare."

"Dude, shut _up_." Percy shook his head in warning.

"You know they've left you down here to die, right?" the God spat.

A deafening roar from below shook several stones loose above them.

Percy needed to get moving. Now.

Reaching forwards, Percy seized the scruff of the jet black robes on the still talking God, who yelped as Percy wrenched him forwards, struggling and limping in his grip, but Percy didn't let go.

He stabbed his sword up, impaling him straight through the stomach with Adamas.

"-and _aGH_!"

Ichor poured over his hand. The God gave a lurching cry, panicked and wild eyes meeting his own, as his pale hands weakly jerked and gripped Percy's shoulders.

"I- I-" the God's breath came in stutters and stammers.

Lights blinked on and off in his eyes, just like Apate's, and, knowing what was coming, Percy shoved the God roughly backwards, yanking Adamas out with a squelch and throwing his other hand over his eyes.

A blinding light filtered in through his fingers, and without the blessing, this time Percy could feel the intense heat that rolled off the dying God.

When he could no longer feel it, he glanced once at the large scorch mark, seared into the ground, and the body lying atop it, and turned to the cliff side going up. He drove his sword in, hearing a bellow too close for his liking behind him, and continued his climb.

If the God had told him the truth, there were more monsters above him. As Percy pushed up with his feet, he observed the cliff ahead, seeing little ledges scattered here and there like a flight of stairs.

Resting his boiling face against the stone for a second, Percy watched as the impending stalagmites sprouted from the ledge below, spreading across his entire way down like a thorn bush. The red rocks of tartarus were barely visible, just darkness all around, to the point where his Nyx blessing was kicking in, little silver outlines guiding his way-

Percy's foot slipped.

Like a sucker punch to the chest, all the air vanished from his lungs.

His swords slid out from the cliff face, and suddenly the entire terrain was blurring and curving up as he fell, his body twisting and flipped and the stalagmites reached up to him like a mother.

The air whipped by him, hissing like Tartarus was crowing victoriously in his ear, _head_ over _heels_ , _head_ over _heels_ -

Percy reached out an arm to protect his head, scrunched his eyes shut and-

He landed on a platform a little higher up than he had been, the shadow travel leaving him retching onto the ground, exhausted hands spasming around his swords. He- he- couldn't- couldn't breathe breathe breathe-

Percy propelled himself backwards, back slamming soundly against the cliff, facing out towards the edges of the ledge. He couldn't breathe out, only in, liquid adrenaline in his lungs and what felt like electricity shooting up and down his legs.

"Percy Jackson..." A voice mused to his right.

Still stuck in the horror of nearly falling to his death, all Percy could manage was looking in their direction with frantic eyes, his body still pushing itself against the wall in an effort to be safe.

It was another damn God, or a Goddess this time, a beautiful woman in a white robe.

She crouched down by Percy, who was too tense and locked in panic to do anything besides jerk his hand to where his sword lay, rigid muscles in his arm ready to lash out. The Goddess caught his wrist, holding it loosely, and laid a cool hand across his forehead, worried brown eyes looking him over.

"You've come a long way." she murmured. "And yet such a long way still to go."

Percy made eye contact with her, not moving, the coldness of her hand soothing and cooling his burning body.

"Who a-are-?" he choked out, the salty taste of sweat and the copper of blood in his mouth.

"Philotes." Her voice was like a breeze on a summer day. "Goddess of friendship and affection."

She must have caught his flash of confusion, for she elaborated. "Nyx is my mother. I keep her company down here." She helped him to his shaky feet, his heart pounding inside his chest. "Not _all_ down here are bad. There are a few of us who do not wish to see Gaia take over."

Philotes looked around, her light hair flowing over her shoulders, little plaits here and there. Her hands rested on Percy's bare shoulders, and he found himself getting his breath back, his energy, his determination to get back to his friends.

Philotes turned back. Her eyes scanned him, from his disfigured and bleeding face, purple nose and cheekbone drastically out of place, to the red ring of burns still visible from Kampê's whip.

"You have to be careful, my darling," she told him sympathetically, "Tartarus himself has put a hit out on you."

"He's what?" Percy raised his eyebrows in shock.

"Why do you think so many of us are around here? We were all drawn to you, like moths to a flame." she told him. "Every monster down here is now aware of where you are. Come see."

She took Percy's filthy hand a little gingerly, probably choosing not to comment on the gold dripping across his body and soaking his hands, and led him to the edge. Her skin felt soft in his calloused and blood-encrusted hands.

"Look." she said, pointing downwards.

Percy followed her eyeline, but could see nothing, tightening his grip on her hand. Although he instinctively felt as though he could trust her, if she tried anything, he'd take her down with him.

"I can't see anything." he told her, his voice hoarser than he remembered.

She smiled calmly as if she could read his mind. "No," she replied, reaching her other hand up to his sweaty temple, "Look _further_." she said insistently.

Her fingers spread a coolness across his head, and like binoculars, he found himself able to see further, through the lattice of rocky spikes, straight down to the base of the cliff.

What looked like thousands upon thousands of monsters were at the bottom.

They threw themselves at the stone face, scrabbling over and even on each other to get up, sharp claws sending showers of rock tumbling down in grooves like trenches, a mess of snarls and whines, hundreds more pouring in like swarms of ants from every direction from every corner of Tartarus.

Every single one of their eyes were looking straight at him.

And there was Tartarus, far too close for his liking, halfway up the cliff, his car sized feet stomping and stamping on monsters as if they were nothing more than steps. His giant fists were clenched. The half melted sword was back to full sharpness, the cut in his armour repaired and healed. Every time he drove his fist into the cliff, bellowing loudly, it shook the entire pit like an earthquake.

Though Tartarus did not have a face, he radiated a sort of malicious glee in the hunting of Percy. If he wanted, if he really focused, the primordial could probably manipulate the terrain and throw Percy off the cliff, but Percy guessed every time he stabbed him he set him back a little, and Tartarus was still new to his body.

Thinking about that, and not taking his eyes off the swirling face craned up to watch him, Percy dropped to his knees, letting go of Philotes hand. He withdrew his sword, and plunged it into the stone beneath him.

Tartarus roared, misplacing his foot and sliding down a couple inches.

"You can slow him down with this, but not indefinitely." Philotes' voice said somewhere near him, and she let go of his head, his vision springing back to normal like an elastic band.

Percy stood up, and the Goddess regarded him softly.

She was so beautiful, so clean, and so kind that tears sprung to his eyes. Spending so long down here, in the blood, the ash, the fear and the fury... he wanted to go home so badly he could feel it hurt in his chest.

"Are you real?" he asked her quietly, dreading the answer.

If he woke up now, and he was dreaming while still on the run with Damasen and Bob, or stuck in a cave with a sadistic Koios, or locked in the darkness with The Voice... he wasn't sure what he would do.

"I'm real." she said firmly. "You're not too far gone. There are still ways for you to come back, for you to heal, and grow. You have so much more ahead of you. It's time for you to live, rather than just survive."

Percy felt a lonely tear slip down his cheek.

"I'm so tired." he whispered.

She didn't say anything in response, just cupped his bruised and bloodied cheek and stroked it gently with her thumb

"Go." she told him softly. "When they get to this level, I will hold them off as best I can. You _must_ carry on, get back to your mother, and your girlfriend and your friends."

Perhaps before all of this, Percy would have insisted she join him, that someone so nice and so motherly didn't have to die. Instead, he nodded grimly, blinking rapidly.

"Thank you." he told her simply.

"Two of my sisters remain," she added. "Adephagia, goddess of greed and Eucleia, of glory. They will not hesitate to sacrifice you."

She stepped closer to him, before reaching down to the ground, her white robe remaining impossibly clean. She dragged two of her fingers along the floor, collecting the powdered dust of the black glassy floor. She brought them up, and dragged them down Percy's face, painting one thick stripe across each of his eyes from hairline to chin, covering his eye scar and congealing with the ichor already on his face. It stood out starkly against his pale white face.

"You must not hesitate either." she whispered.

Percy nodded. Just before he started climbing, he had a thought.

"Is there a way out? At the top, I mean?" he asked, slightly desperately.

Philotes gave him a sad smile. "You will have to make one." she said, taking out a long and fine rapier blade of gold and turning away.

"There are more of us who are rooting for you than you know." she said without looking at him. "We live in this flawed world together, but we cannot let it be destroyed before we have the chance to heal it."

Percy swallowed tightly.

He was infinitely more careful as he climbed this time, not letting go and not stopping, his sweaty hands clutched around Riptide and Adamas as tightly as he could. He didn't look back at Philotes.

He drove Adamas into the cliff face with his right hand.

When he got out, he was going to smell the grass, the petrichor, the sea salt.

He heaved himself up and slammed Riptide into the stone with his left hand.

He was going to stare at the sun until the pure light left dots in his vision for minutes after.

Adamas, right hand.

He was going to sit in the strawberry fields at camp and eat the sweet berries until the harpies were forced to chase him off.

Riptide, left hand.

He was going to buy his mother the expensive turquoise typewriter she'd been thinking about buying for the last year.

Adamas, right hand.

He was never doing the lava wall at camp again and he'd have to hand over his title of most burned to Clarisse.

Riptide, left hand.

He was going to tell Chiron everything he'd done and hope that he would understand and not throw him out of camp.

Adamas, right hand.

He was going to wade into the lake with Annabeth and cry underwater in her arms, let it all go and get it all out until nothing was left and he could relax again.

Riptide, left hand.

He was going to take a shower, and strip off all the layers of blood, ichor and mistakes until he was light and clean.

Another earthquake shook the cliff, and Percy clung on tightly as several hunks of rock fell from the sky. If he squinted, Percy could swear he could see some stalactites coming down, which could possibly mean...he was close to the ceiling.

He felt like he'd been climbing for days by the time the next ledge came into view, his arms shaking with effort and his back aching fiercely. He'd had to fight off several attacks from winged creatures, lashing out with their own blood and exploding them from the inside, clouds of gold falling like raindrops around him.

A scream burst from below, and Percy whipped his head over his shoulder.

Philotes was swarmed with monsters, the massive hand of Tartarus creeping over the edge of the platform a couple hundred feet below him, and they snapped and darted around her, catching her arms, her legs, and she screamed once again, slicing with her rapier.

Percy locked his jaw, and continued climbing.

He didn't look down as the screams continued and he certainly didn't look down when they stopped.

It was only when Percy reached the last small square-shaped platform that he realised: it wasn't a platform.

It was the top.

He stood up, putting riptide in his pocket, and looked in a wide circle around him. In three directions, it was nothing but black air and the tips of the red clouds. Below, he followed the long cliff face and saw the absolute tsunami of monsters raging below getting nearer every second. Behind him was a stone wall that connected his huge pillar of rock to the black ceiling only a few feet from his head, stalactites hanging down in arcs like sleeping bats. It was dark, and Percy could almost feel a wind whistling around him, as if he was atop Everest. It certainly _felt_ like it, he thought, rolling his strained shoulders, wary of his sore ribs.

"Adephagia? Eucleia?" he called out, his voice loud in the quiet of the summit, just the faint hum of the monsters below keeping it from a total dead silence. "I know you're up here." he added, turning his head in every direction.

"Do you now?" a voice answered behind him, and Percy jerked forwards, spinning around.

One of the Goddesses was stood behind him, watching him intently with a definitely predatory expression. Her dress was a dark red but Percy didn't think for one second it was meant to be that colour, neckline obscured by the flow of sleek black hair.

" Adephagia or Eucleia?" he asked, still trying to find the other one.

"Adephagia." she replied evenly. "Hello Godkiller."

"Where's your sister?" Percy cut to the chase.

"Which one? Philotes, the one you just left for dead?"

"You know what I'm talking about, don't try to mess with my head." Percy cut her off angrily.

Adephagia smiled sickeningly.

"Oh Eucleia's around." she said. "But let's get down to the real points."

She gestured to Adamas.

"Give me your sword and I'll let you live." she said.

"Absolutely not." Percy refused flatly.

Her eyes flashed with rage.

"I need it." she replied. "Give it to me."

Percy rolled her eyes in exasperation. "You were greed, right?"

"It's not greed!" she whined, stamping her foot, a pendant around her neck swinging. "I just need some things!"

"Look-" Percy glanced down at the hoard of monsters only a couple hundred feet away. "I don't have time for this. Can we just get on with this whole thing? Or you could just leave? Either's good."

"Eucleia!" Adephagia yelled.

Percy yelped as another goddess flickered into view an inch away from his face, dagger shooting towards his stomach. He caught her wrist and, hooking his ankle behind her leg, effectively shoved her to the floor, with what would have been a fatal stab wound reduced to a small cut across his stomach.

 _"Oof!_ " Eucleia hit the ground with a solid thump.

She was a rather heavy set Goddess, rubenesque beauty that didn't quite extend to the coldness in her eyes. She had a pendant around her neck too, another thick chunk of polished grey stone. Her frizzy hair stuck out as if she'd been shocked.

"That hurt!" she exclaimed in indignation.

Percy scrunched up his face in confusion. "What?"

"That. _Hurt!"_ She punctuated each word with a jab of her stubby fingers. "How are we supposed to kill the Godkiller if you won't let us?"

Another roar from down below, alarmingly close, had Percy snapping to attention. "Right, shut up," he said, "I need to find a way out."

There was a stalagmite close to a stalactite in the corner, but he didn't know how he could get through the layers of thick rock. Adamas could make a primordial bleed but couldn't exactly cut out an escape hatch for him. He knew he would die if he tried to shadow travel; he simply didn't have enough energy or knowledge to do it.

"Don't ignore us!" Eucleia snapped.

Percy gestured with Adamas in their direction and they both jumped back. His lip curled and he strode forwards.

In one fluid motion, he kicked Eucleia in the chest, sending her flying over the edge of the cliff, and swung to behead Adephagia.

She jerked her head back, the blade missing her neck by a hair, and, as Percy rounded on her, she turned to the cliff edge, and jumped.

Percy blinked. Okay.

He went back to the ceiling problem, pacing slowly, trying hard to ignore the increasing rumble below him, stabbing his swords lightly into the ground every now and then to slow Tartarus down.

Eventually, it hit him with a bleak finality.

He couldn't get out.

Percy stopped moving, standing shock still.

This was it. End of the line. Boxed in, an army and a primordial on one side, several metres of thick rock on the other. He had been driven into a foxhole and was left without the claws to dig himself out.

He would stand here until the wave of monsters washed over him, fight until he could no longer stand, and then there was no doubt in his mind that Tartarus himself would strike the final blow. Maybe he'd be killed quickly. Maybe it would be drawn out, every monster watching and laughing as he screamed until the blood in his throat muffled his voice. Maybe he'd be left for all eternity in Tartarus' cursed breastplate.

"I'm going to die." Percy whispered to himself, almost silently.

A cackle floated up to the side of him, followed by the sound of a slap, and an ' _oof_ '.

Percy glanced numbly over the cliff, and stared at the two goddesses below, clinging to the side of the rock face. Another blow from Tartarus' fist shook the entire block, sending more showers of rock down, and causing them to look up.

They stared at him.

There was a red mark on Eucleia's arm from where he guessed Adephagia had struck her.

"If I gave you my sword," Percy found himself saying in a detached tone, "Would you make it quick?"

The goddesses looked at each other in shock for a second before both started nodding quickly and babbling.

"Quick death-"

"Over in a second-"

" _Less_ than a second-"

" _Less_ than _less_ of a second-"

"You wouldn't feel it-"

"You wouldn't even _see_ it-"

"You wouldn't even see _us_ , here look-"

Both goddesses touched the pendants around their necks and vanished briefly, before flickering back into view.

"See?" Adephagia exclaimed.

Percy's eyes wandered around him. He took in everything he could see. He didn't want to die.

"Come up." he heard himself say.

Percy wandered into the middle of the platform.

He didn't know what to think, or what to say at this point. Didn't everyone have important last words? For a kid with ADHD, his mind was remarkably blank for once.

Last words.

He had nothing to say to anyone here.

He was so far up, and so far away from home.

He tucked Adamas into his trouser loops and took out riptide instead. He was going to die, he didn't want his soul to be reaped as well. Riptide killing him seemed... fitting. Like an old friend putting you out of your misery.

The roaring was only meters away, and Adephagia and Eucleia seemed to be in a hurry to get away from them.

"Here." his voice was toneless as he held out riptide. "Take whatever you want when I'm dead."

Eucleia took the sword from his hands, running her own over it it reverently. Adephagia put her hands on Percy's shoulders, just like Philotes had done, and he let himself be pushed to his knees.

Another blow from Tartarus shook them all, so close, and Percy's eyes focused dimly on something in the distance.

"Ready?" Eucleia said, unable to hide her glee.

Percy didn't say anything.

They knew he wasn't.

Eucleia raised his sword, levelling it up with his heart.

His hands were loose at his sides.

The goddesses exchanged a look, no doubt looking for signs it was a trap. Percy wished it was.

Annabeth, he thought, and his internal voice was small and distant, like a note in a bottle being swept away by the endless waves of the sea.

Annabeth. I'm sorry.

Eucleia drew back the sword, ready to strike.

I'm _sorry_.

Tartarus struck another blow, a boulder the size of a car falling straight down to the left of him.

He closed his eyes.

 _I'm so sorry._

Eucleia was swinging.

Claws were appearing over the top of the cliff.

Rocks tumbled around him.

Percy's eyes snapped open.

 _Wait_.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **...oof.**

 **Damn, i- I'm shook by my own writing. Like holy balls give me a Grammy or summin. Yes hello, I can't wait for yall to scream at me, I live for it, believe me if I was reviewing my own story I'd screech at myself. Faith, I hope u liked this xoxoxo.**


	48. Percy XXXI

THIS **CHAPTER PUTS THE WORD COUNT INTO ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND UWU WE DID IT!**

 **Yall SCREAMED at me for the last chapter oof lmao me too sis. I posted it at like 9pm in America so everyone was awake and raving,,, but yall,,,,, that's 3am in England where I am,,, I was too busy writing to sleep.**

 **Ya sis is 17 now yeet yeet.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 48

Percy XXXI

The answer had been right in front of him all along.

How the hunks of rock plummeted around them like asteroids every time Tartarus hit the cliff.

The stalactites snapping and tumbling to the ground, exploding into thousands shards that pelted the trio like hail.

How the goddesses in front of him could barely stand as the ground beneath them shook and trembled.

All the pieces connected in Percy's head at the same time to form an absolutely ridiculous idea, and it sent a raw pulse of adrenaline through his body.

Every nerve was alight. His eyes sharpened and flew open.

Percy threw his hands upwards, lurching his body to the side, as he wrenched riptide out of Eucleia's hands. The tip had been a millimetre away from his heart.

"Hey!" Eucleia screamed, and stamped her foot.

"You can't do that!" Adephagia cried, as Percy came out of his roll and staggered to his feet.

"Sure I can!" A kind of manic laugh burst out of him, eyes wild and churning.

All the hopelessness and terror he had felt before seemed to have vanished. His head had cleared. He only had one thought in his mind, a plan Z; his last chance, and Percy knew he would certainly be dead if it didn't work.

Which is why it would have to.

He didn't know what he'd do if it didn't.

"Do you have any _idea_ who I am?" Percy asked them.

A few monsters scrabbled over the edge of their platform, and Percy kicked them back over the edge, howls sinking into the pitch blackness below.

"Because I'll tell you who I am." Percy said.

He flicked riptide to the side, clouds of gold dust flying off the end of the blade.

"I'm Percy Jackson," Percy said, beheading an ogre. "Head of Cabin three and Praetor of New Rome. Recoverer of Zeus' lightning bolt, the golden fleece as well. Holder of the sky, Survivor of the Labyrinth, and Defeater of Kronos etc."

Adephagia and Eucleia yelped as claws came over their side of the ledge, jumping away, but still trying to keep their distance from Percy, eyes widening with impending fear as he continued speaking.

"I've had the Achilles curse twice, the Nyx blessing once. I've been to Alaska and came back. I've had to fight more titans and more giants than _anyone_ else I know, and lived to tell the stories." Percy said, stabbing a monster clean through the chest, a sense of satisfaction welling up in him as he recounted what he'd done, something he never really got to do, constantly downplaying himself. Not anymore.

"I _am_ the Godkiller." Percy stated simply, and never before had he felt so close to the title he had been given.

Another bellow shook the very stones underneath Percy's feet, and he hurried into the centre of the platform.

"But the most important thing right now?" he asked the two goddesses rhetorically. "You know what _really_ matters in the end?"

They shook their heads minutely.

 _The water is within you_ , Percy recalled the words said to him once.

Percy reached inside himself and remembered the waves and the currents, the endless power of the ocean. He felt the tug in his gut, and didn't fight it; he let it drag him under, becoming part of the churning backwash, the riptide that drowned surfers pinned to the sea floor, and heavy fifty foot waves that powered through houses, knocking down trees and sweeping those who tried to flee off their feet. It had been so long since he had done something like this. Percy slowly unleashed the strength within him, that he always tried to hold back, to contain and manage. But he knew more than anyone how _the sea does not like to be restrained._

"I'm the son of Poseidon." Percy said, his skin awash with power. "God of the Seas. Father of Horses. And," he said, bringing his sword high up above his head. "The _Earthshaker_."

He let it all loose in one powerful bellow and stabbed his sword straight down into the ground.

Around him, the shaking went from chaotic to insane.

There was an explosion, a tidal wave, a whirlwind of power simultaneously catching him up and blasting him downward onto the floor. Magma and water collided, superheated steam, as Percy's dams broke open.

Whole chunks of the ceiling fell down, the entire cliff teetering from side to side, and storm clouds of dust billowed up into the air, as practically all of Percy's surroundings became a frantic blur.

The goddesses were thrown haphazardly to the ground next to him, monsters flung off the cliff, and Percy had to cling to his sword in order to hang on. Power rolled down his arms in waves, sinking into the stone as pulse after pulse of raw energy shook even the air around him.

A rock the size of a car detached from the ceiling with a loud crack, falling slowly and majestically down to the ground.

In the distance, Percy saw magma erupt from a spiky black mountain, bursting out like a smashed fire hydrant. Massive black fissures cracked the ground, huge chasms opening up beneath them, monsters howling as they were pulled into Chaos below.

A bead of something that could have been sweat rolled down Percy's face, and he panted, his hands burning around Riptide, the black tips of his fingers barely visible in the darkness.

He held on as long as he could, his arms and head screaming at him.

And then it finally happened.

A great almighty crack echoed thunderously through the pit, the noise lancing through Percy's pained eardrums, like the biggest bone in the world being snapped right by him. The largest chunk of rock Percy had ever seen dropped from the ceiling, the size of a small ocean liner.

The front of it smashed into the column of rock Percy was on, and it threw him completely off his feet. Riptide was pulled straight out of the ground as he tumbled backwards, just barely managing to stay on.

The rock smashed down the side of the cliff with a waning howl, obliterating monsters and minor gods alike in explosions of gold and bursts of rock. It sailed past Tartarus, who had stopped climbing to bellow as the world around them was torn apart. The rock hit the ground with a boom that threw them all backwards, a tsunami of destruction spreading out in every direction.

Percy shook his head groggily from the floor, a ringing and buzzing in his ears. He could feel vague pain from a gash all down his arm. Every noise around him seemed to be muted.

He blinked slowly once, twice, eyes wandering up to the ceiling.

A small ray of light had appeared, dust dancing gently in the beam.

At the top of it, Percy could see a small opening, a kind of grey light coming through a hole no bigger than a phone booth.

He stood shakily, dimly aware of the sheer destruction around him, softly patting his hands around his trousers to make sure he had everything.

Percy took a step forwards, and winced as his hearing began to come back into focus, like turning up the volume on the TV, fire crackling and beasts screaming all around him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Adephagia stand up. Her dress was torn, and she looked a mess.

"Eucleia!" she cried, and Percy's glance flicked to two feet sticking out from under a boulder. Ichor seeped out from under it.

"Yikes." Percy whispered, raising his split eyebrow.

The crying goddess whipped around with hate-filled eyes, and she reached up to grab her pendant, disappearing in front of him.

Percy shook his head. He needed to get moving.

He stumbled over to a rock balancing precariously on top of the still swaying cliff, that seemed to be about to give out any second. Percy clambered on top of it, on all fours, like how he used to climb stairs as a child. He climbed onto another one, just a few metres away from the ceiling, the little square escape hatch within reaching distance.

So, naturally, things had to go wrong.

Below him, Percy watched in horror as a too-close Tartarus began to laugh, a noise that sent raw terror through Percy, his hairs standing on edge, breathing out of his mouth heavily. The Primordial God pulled his sword backwards, and slammed it into the cliff.

Percy watched in confusion as the Tartarus bellowed out in pain, but kept stabbing the cliff. It clicked in his head too late, as cracks began to spiderweb across the already precarious cliff. The base began to crumble. The rocks underneath Percy began to sink as the entire cliff started to collapse like a skyscraper, hundreds of monsters getting crushed underneath the hulking rock, scraped off the sides of it like flies.

Percy scrambled up the rest of the rocks, eyes wide and panicked, going as fast as he could, now weaving through stalactites sticking down from the ceiling rapidly.

The little hole was within reaching distance, and as the rocks began to lurch underneath him, Percy threw caution to the wind.

Reaching out with both hands, Percy jumped.

The rocks fell away underneath his feet, arcing down towards the broken and smashed ground.

More magma shot out of the mountains in the distance, cries of monsters easily distinguishable in the chaos.

Percy sailed through the air, stretching his body as far as it could go.

He could feel Tartarus' disbelieving face watching him.

Percy's fingertips scraped the edge.

A hand closed around his ankle, and just that little bit of drag pulled him down a fraction of an inch.

He missed it.

Percy's body slammed into a stalactite, arms wrapping around it, and he found himself hanging on to it desperately, his breaths coming shorter and quicker as he hung in the air, only murder and destruction waiting thousands of feet below him. He kicked his flailing feet in the dead air, and Adephagia popped into view.

She looked just as scared as he did, but there was spite in her eyes as she spat at him.

"If I die," she hissed, "you're coming with me."

"Get- hgn- _off_ me!" Percy shouted, and with every kick, he slid a little further down the stalactite.

"You _asked_ me to kill you! Well, here I am!" she screamed.

Percy had never felt so scared before, and he dug in his bleeding fingernails into the stone in order to gain traction, just to stay alive that little bit longer, scrabbling madly in the air. The chain still dangling from his bloodied wrist swung below him. His face was slowly turning red from the effort of clinging on.

The little opening in the ceiling was mockingly close, and he could feel whispers of the cool air above dancing through his hair.

"Let- ah- _go_!" he shouted.

" _Never_!" Adephagia pressed her clawed hands into the bloody skin of his leg, and Percy jerked, pain spreading like he'd had hot sauce thrown on an open wound.

He made eye contact with her, black eyes glinting at stormy green, and tried to slow his breathing, tried to calm himself down as best he could. He imagined Annabeth and Grover on the other side, reaching out hands to catch him, to pull him up and through, patiently waiting.

Percy blew out a breath through his mouth, feeling a panicked tear mixing with the black war paint down his face.

He coughed out a sob, and, with his remaining energy, even though his skin burned, and his throat felt as dry as a desert, found the feeling of ichor below him.

"Last chance." he choked out, desperate to conserve energy. "Let go, or die."

Adephagia just dug her claws in deeper, little rivulets of his blood dripping into the raging darkness below them. "This is on Gaia, Godkiller," she whispered venomously. "You were never meant to turn into this."

Percy closed his eyes, and his eyebrows clenched together. The goddess below him began to jerk, and he heard choking noises rise up. He found the centre, the heat of the ichor, making it warmer and warmer, sinking deeply into it, until he found the raw beginnings of it, the connections of the life it gave. The hooks that connected the ichor to the body, and ripped them away, not one by one, but handful by handful. Like last time, they sprang apart with little pings like piano strings, and Percy didn't hesitate to wrench the last one off.

The weight pulling him down had been getting both lighter and less frantic, and he felt an even hotter air underneath. He knew she was on her way out, and clung even harder to the stone as a burning feeling emblazoned across his leg from where the Goddess had touched him. She hadn't had any open wounds, he thought, how exactly was-?

His question was answered instantly as the life force beneath him exploded, and what felt like a bucket of hot liquid sprayed over his body, ichor covering him from the tips of his greasy hair to the soles of his hole ridden shoes.

Percy opened his eyes, and choked as he saw the familiar liquid gold splattered on him, and falling in huge globs below. It smelt like metal.

She was gone.

Muscles locked and tense, Percy turned his head as best he could, and dragged his exhausted body to the top of the stalactite, practically hearing his third grade gym teacher yelling at him to climb the rope.

He glanced at what remained of the cliff, and his stomach twisted on sight. Tartarus stood there solidly, gaze boring directly into him, and Percy could feel the terror grip his legs and chest, almost unable to look away from the being that radiated pure hatred and anger.

Close to hyperventilating, Percy swallowed, and reached out an arm to the hole. His fingers were slippery on the edge, and Percy shook his head, biting his lip. He'd never make it. He couldn't. Percy could see it in his head, him jumping off, trying to twist around and catch himself on it, fingers sliding easily off, and he saw his body plummeting and flipping down into Tartarus' murderous grasp. No. No, he couldn't.

But nor could he stay here, rocks still falling around him and the terrain below cracking and erupting. Percy had never felt so unsure, and so petrified of moving.

 _Come on_ , his mother whispered in his head, _you can do this, Percy._

 _Gonna hang around all day, Seaweed Brain?_ Annabeth's face swam in front of his eyes, and he huffed a breath out through his nose, lips twitching.

 _Percy, man, come on_. Grover nodded reassuringly.

Percy took one look at the destroyed and burning landscape around him.

His heart was beating in his chest so loud and so hard, he felt sick.

"I can do this." Percy didn't know whether he thought it or whispered it silently, but he clung to the sentiment.

Pulling up his shaking feet to kick off, Percy reached out with one hand, his remaining arm still holding on. The stalactite felt safe, but, as a rock dropped from the roof in front of his eyes, he knew it was just a matter of time before it broke, he couldn't stay there forever.

He needed to go.

He didn't move.

Now.

No, Percy couldn't move; he was too scared, he was too scared, too scared-

Now.

No.

Now?

 _No._

 _Now_!

Feeling as though his arms were about to drop off, Percy jumped. He even reached out a little with his powers, finding his own blood, and pushed his body high, as hard as he could, refusing to look down at the endless and terrifying drop below.

His hands stretched out from bloody palms to blackened fingertips...

And he caught the ledge firmly in both hands.

Swinging forwards, then backwards, Percy used the momentum to pull himself up further, hooking his body over, armpits over the edge.

A angry bellow echoed below, but Percy just gasped, kicking and pulling until his entire body went through the gap, and he rolled to the side, body laid out on the floor twitching and spasming.

Percy's breathing was erratic, and in a jerky fashion, he turned his head to the side and threw up. There wasn't much to throw up, just the raw meat he'd consumed on the run. His barf was black, green and chunky.

Delicious.

Percy didn't even recognise where he was for the first few minutes, still throwing up and shaking. He made it? He made it. He actually _made_ it. When he could actually breathe, and lift his jittery hands without them blurring, he pulled himself up to sit against the wall behind him, wary of the gap in the floor next to him.

He could feel a cool breeze, like in subway tunnels, only it felt older and familiar. The walls were made of grey cement, and the ceiling was quite low, that Percy knew if he stood, it would knock him on the head. Cobwebs spanned from corner to corner.

"The Labyrinth." Percy murmured, and it was loud in the long and wide corridor.

Percy glanced at the gap in the floor again, feeling the heat coming from it. He glanced down into it, but found he could only see darkness, tinted red, flashing every now and then. Was that how dark it had been? Percy's eyes were still adjusted to the darkness, and he found himself squinting a little even in the grey gloom of the labyrinth.

It made sense that he would end up in there; the labyrinth did run under most of the world, he couldn't expect to just pop out on the surface.

A distant growl echoed up from the pit, and Percy looked around. The dusty tunnel he was in looked like it had suffered some damage from his earthquake, cracks and rocks scattered around. Percy would be grateful if he never saw a rock ever again.

He found a big-ish boulder, and shoved it over the opening, ignoring the aching and bloody gashes on his arms, effectively closing it off. It was silly, but Percy instantly felt better. The tunnel too, seemed brighter, less threatening, though it may have been his imagination.

And though he couldn't help it, and felt stupid for even feeling it, Percy felt a little sad that his friends weren't here to greet him, like he'd imagined.

He had been alone for a long, _long_ time; monsters didn't count.

And his brief resurface to the camps began to feel more and more like a dream, or a nightmare. It troubled him deeply in the back of his mind that he wasn't sure what was real or not, like the first few minutes after a nap where you weren't sure where you were or what was going on.

Percy wrinkled his nose at all the filth on him, and prodded gently at his weeping leg. He frowned as he examined it. What was that? There was a kind of- handprint? On him? Percy's eyes widened. It was where Adephagia had held him, he could see the claw marks leading down to it... she had _burned_ him as she died.

A noise like a stone clattering across the ground snapped Percy's head up, and he whipped his sword out, staggering to his feet.

He didn't say anything, his teeth still clenched.

"Hello?" A distinctly human voice called, but Percy just held on to his sword tighter, narrowing his eyes to slits.

He'd been tricked by cyclopes before.

Yet a head popped round the corner. Two eyes, two arms, two legs. And _freckles_?

The teenage boy wandered into view, made eye contact with Percy, and stopped dead in his tracks.

"Holy _Hera_." the kid said.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Yeet yah yeet.**

 **The whole tone of this chapter made me mad nervous. Tell me in a review if you could hear your heartbeat lmao. Yo I got no clue if I'll post again before Christmas, so if I don't, happy Christmas! Or happy holidays for my non-Christmas lads! Eat food, sleep well, get hammered. Repeat.**

 **Xoxoxo hey faith.**


	49. Annabeth V

**What tHE FJKSHJSLSKKSLS 1000 REVIEWS HOLY SHJSKSK. I am... overwhelmed. I thought 100 was a lot. I. I got no clue how this happened but I'm living for it. You're all my ride or die. Special 1000th reviewer wassss... Djberneman! And to answer your question mate, nah, she's not really the intervening-type, though she might come back at some point ;)**

 **Guest reviewer Milk: dude,,,, are u okay**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 49

Annabeth V

"Here's one." Annabeth murmured, feeling the loose boulder concealing an entrance to a tunnel.

"Got it.'' Frank replied, smearing a red paste they had made of berries from dry native bushes on the rock.

It was bright and eye-catching, similar markers dotted around the coastline in places so they could find the hidden entrances later, when everyone had arrived.

The sun was setting, the sky just starting to go pink, orange at the edges, and Annabeth breathed in the smell of the sea air deeply. The smell of Percy. She hated that didn't know where the Hades he was, what he was really doing, because if the price for her life was just blessing a sword, she felt almost undervalued. Absolute idiot, she thought angrily, wiping her sweaty hands on her shorts, but there were more emotions than just anger. She was worried. He'd been gone so long, and no one would give her a solid physical description of him besides 'bad'.

She took another breath, but this time it felt wrong. It choked in her throat.

It no longer smelt like Percy. It grew intense, less salt and more saline, acidic and clogging, in her nose, her throat, until she could taste a mix of sea water and blood in her mouth.

The world around her disappeared, and she could feel darkness pressing against her eyes, liquid black, wood underneath her hands, and she recoiled into herself, lungs straining and jerking, pulse pounding in her head like a tribal drum beat, in her ears, her eyes, her temples-

"-beth! _Annabeth_! Hey! Look at me!"

The darkness retreated so quickly that Annabeth jumped. She was back on the beach, sky orange, someone right in front of her. She saw wide eyes, a hand reaching out tentatively towards her.

Annabeth jumped again, snatching the wrist and flipping a mass of body over her shoulder, judo reflexes finely tuned and tense.

-oof!"

Annabeth blinked.

Frank stared up at her from his place flat on his back on the sand, looking extremely confused.

"Frank." she said, raising her eyebrows jerkily, breath starting to slow and calm. "Oh, schist, Frank I'm so sorry."

Frank groaned as he sat up. "That was how it felt for Percy? Jeez."

Annabeth helped him up, frowning with knotted together eyebrows.

"What happened?" they both asked each other.

"What?"

"Why?''

They both stopped and stared at each other.

"I'll go first." Annabeth said, raising a hand to stop them from interrupting each other. "What just happened?"

Frank looked just as bewildered as she felt.

"You kind of blacked out?" Frank explained quickly. "I'm not sure. One second you were stood there, the next you- you were breathing really quick and you couldn't hear me, or see me. I was calling your name for ages."

Annabeth's gaze flicked from the sea to the gaps in the trees, now shadowy and dark. Was it Gaia? Had she got into her head somehow? Maybe by being in direct contact with the ground, she could somehow get into their heads, shut them down from the inside-

"I think you had a panic attack." Frank said quietly, taking care to look at her with understanding eyes.

Annabeth stopped. "No." she said instantly. "Of course I didn't. I couldn't. There was nothing to set one off, I-" she stopped again.

Of course the thought had occurred to her. She had all the symptoms. All the signs. The trigger. It made sense.

Except it didn't.

"It didn't feel like a panic attack." she said to Frank in a small voice, a voice she hated, that made her sound weak. "It had to have been something else."

Frank was watching her with uncertain eyes.

"I'm fine." she told him, dismissing the whole situation. "We have more to be preoccupied with right now."

"Okay." Frank seemed eager to push past it, but still had worry in her eyes.

Annabeth hated being pitied, and a quick glare had Frank putting up his hands in surrender, looking away.

"We need to find a place for the night. Away from the Acropolis, away from the entrances." Away from the sea, her mind whispered. "I'd say the jungle would be our best bet, plenty of cover, possible food and water sources until the others arrive."

"Let's go."

They walked pretty deep into the trees, Annabeth taking the lead. They cut their way through the increasingly dense lattice of the vine undergrowth, fighting through the very air, which, though once heavy and moist, as it grew darker, was now cool and still. Trees tall as the cabins back home surrounded them, and glimpses of the faintly appearing stars shimmered through the vast canopy of leaves. They didn't talk. Annabeth was still contemplating what had happened to her, and she could feel Frank's state burning into the back of her head.

Her... death had been a touchy subject. Annabeth didn't actively try to remember it, no one seemed to want to bring it up around her. She had drowned, and no one could say which was worse, the way to go or the irony of her death. On an academical level, she wanted to dissect every second of it, remember her so called resurrection, convert memories to facts she could examine and analyse.

On a traumatic level, she wanted to move on, dismiss it as the equivalent of having CPR done on her, just a little later than usual. But Percy had put himself on the line for her to come back. What did Hades say? He could die, or worse. She knew what was worse than death- torture, insanity, losing those you care about. None of those things could happen to Percy, not on her watch, but her watch hadn't been working for the last week or so.

Dead for a week. She felt a shudder in her chest, and turned around sharply.

Frank jumped back, clearly expecting another flip. Annabeth ignored it. "We should stop here.'' she said. "It's dense enough to cover us. I say we sleep in the trees as well. The further away from the earth the better." she muttered the last part to herself.

They scaled the nearest tree, settling awkwardly in the part where the branches met, legs slightly lying on top of each other. Frank looked a little uncomfortable about it, but Annabeth just let her head fall back onto the branch of the tree, closing her tired eyes. She felt like she'd she'd taken a couple punches to the head.

The air grew cooler and cooler around them, jungle getting darker. Moonlight glinted off the edges of the leaves above her. She wondered if Percy was looking at the moon at the same time. Hades had said that his task was 'nothing he hadn't done before'. He'd done a lot before. What was worth repeating?

Her eyes slowly opened up.

He wouldn't.

She breathed very carefully, and very deliberately, in and out.

There's no way he would.

Her teeth pressed together until her jaw was firmly locked together.

Hades wasn't fond of any of them. He wouldn't make him do that. He wouldn't make him go back. He wouldn't. No one went in once, let alone went _back_. Voluntarily.

But then she thought of how he looked at her. When her arms were around his shoulders, his around her waist, as he looked down at her, with a dorky grin, foreheads pressed together, like she'd hung the moon. The gentle smile that wouldn't fade no matter what she said or did. Annabeth closed her eyes, and the branches digging into her arms grew soft, circling her body. She imagined Percy behind her, supporting and holding her, with his steady, muscled arms. She could hear his laugh echoing in and out of the branches. She began to feel her body relax and sink. She could almost feel his breath ghosting on her neck. His heartbeat pulsing through her back. His chin resting on her head.

He would.

She knew he would. For her.

He'd go back _there_.

The corners of her eyes welled up a little, and she shoved it from her mind, from her brain, from the whole damn tree. He'd come back. He would. He wouldn't leave her here. Not like this, not now, not ever.

She was unwillingly dragged into a restless and shallow sleep.

When she woke a few hours later, it was to loud snapping branches and a poke on the arm. Frank was crouched in the tree beside her, gripping his sword tightly. Though she felt as if she'd only closed her eyes for a second, Annabeth was up instantly, alert and ready, the jungle light and alive around them.

"What is it?" she whispered.

"No idea." Frank shook his head. "Just woke up. Sounds big."

"It's coming, and from that direction." she gestured with her dagger to where the trees opposite them were swaying.

The rustling grew louder and closer, and both demigods lifted their weapons, free hands curled around branches for support.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes. It sounded big. Bigger than just one cyclops.

With a snarl, a huge great hulking beast burst from the trees. The branches around them shook, and Annabeth jerked her head to the side to avoid falling twigs. What the Hades- a _drakon_?

The beast was covered in scratches, probably not used to being enclosed by trees, and it snapped at the vines caught on the ridges of its tail. Annabeth bent her knees slightly, ready to jump, as Frank frowned, tilting his head to the side.

"Go for the eyes and throat." Annabeth hissed. "The gaseous poison is stored by the larynx."

"Annabeth, wait-"

As Annabeth jumped, Frank's hand grabbed her arm, and they both lost their balance, tumbling through the branches until they hit the leafy floor with a thud, knocking the wind out of her chest.

She scrambled to her feet, as the drakon loomed over them, terrifying jaws wide and ready to consume them, and she had a bare second to pull her dagger back, aimed towards the throat.

"No! Stop!" Frank jumped in between the two, a large grizzly bear roar emerging from his new form.

The drakon hissed, rearing back, Annabeth copying its movements.

But Frank just popped back to human form, holding his hands out in both their directions as a clear stopping symbol. He looked at the drakon, and put his sword on the ground.

"Frank, what are you-!" Annabeth shouted, but he cut her off.

"Put your dagger down!"

"Are you mad!"

"Just put it down, quickly! Trust me!"

Annabeth felt like she'd missed something, hesitating for a second before letting the dagger slide out of her hands. Frank nodded, whipping his head back around to the drakon, who oddly hadn't moved during their interaction.

"I'm Frank," Frank said to the drakon, and Annabeth couldn't believe what she was seeing, "Remember me?"

A tiny amount of green mist seeped out the drakon's mouth, and Annabeth was about to pick up and throw her dagger when something caught her eye.

Around the drakon's neck, a kind of browny-red rope was tied, some kind of pouch attached, made from a similar material. It clicked in her head, and she nodded slowly.

"This is Maia?" she asked Frank, who blinked at her speed and nodded.

"She came out with Percy in Epirus." he explained.

At the sound of Percy's name, the drakon whined, a mournful howl, and she padded towards them. Annabeth's muscles were locked, and it took all she had to not jump into a fight with it. Or _her_ , she guessed.

The drakon observed them for a very long few seconds, before huffing a breath out her nose. Frank blinked comically, and they both turned bewildered eyes on each other as the beast gave an almost shrug-like gesture, and bounded past them.

"Percy tamed that." Annabeth said faintly as she watched the drakon flatten the foliage on its way out.

"Yeah, we all had that reaction." Frank snorted, and they both reached down to snatch up their weapons.

"Let's follow it." Annabeth decided, now eager to learn more about it.

Monsters were called monsters because they just simply were- monsters. Taming one? Especially a non-talking one? Practically unheard of, bar Mrs O'Leary. And a hellhound was strange enough. A drakon?

"He's really done it this time, hasn't he?" She felt like laughing and crying at the same time, and settled on a shake of the head.

They sped after the drakon, easily tracking it through the cleared and flattened pathway it had created.

"If Percy's drakon is here-" Frank said.

"Then everyone else could be." she finished.

Sure enough, as they reached the edge of the jungle, the armies had arrived. Boats had been pulled up high along the beach or anchored out to sea, flying machines landed, tents put up and fire pits started. Demigods and hunters alike milled around, sharpening weapons and chatting nervously.

"There's Piper." Frank pointed suddenly beside her, and they stumbled down the small but steep hill towards the beach.

"Frank! Annabeth!" Hazel came rushing towards them, others following, all of them keeping a wide berth from the drakon clawing at the sand nearby.

Annabeth was pulled into a hug from Piper in the middle of the crowd.

"Gods, we thought we'd lost both of you!" the daughter of Aphrodite cried, visibly checking them over.

"We're fine, Pipes. We're okay." Annabeth reassured her.

Reyna and Jason appeared, both now in full Praetor armour, though Jason had opted to remove the purple cloak. Reyna had not, and it hung with a regal drape over her imperial gold armour, full sets of gold medals adorning both their chestplates. It looked like everyone was covered in armour, ready for a fight.

Reyna stepped up, clasping forearms with Frank, and several demigods backed away, clearly sensing that it was a 'Seven of the Prophecy type conversation', though Reyna and Nico stayed firmly where they were.

"I see you met our resident drakon." Jason nodded to where Maia was now splashing in the waves.

"Yeah, she nearly killed her." Frank told them seriously.

Reyna turned sharp eyes on Annabeth, looking her up and down for injuries. Frank realised his mistake.

Oh, no, I mean the other way around." he corrected himself, and Annabeth smiled.

Reyna seemed pleased at that, and Annabeth saw a glint of approval in her eyes.

"What's in the bag?" Annabeth asked suddenly.

The demigods looked at the drakon as Nico answered her. "We don't know," he said, "she won't let us close enough to get it."

"Could it be weapons? Food? What would Percy put in it?" Leo wondered aloud.

"Probably his head if it wasn't attached." came a voice behind them, and Thalia strode forwards.

"Thals." Annabeth greeted her with a hug, noticing how she was a little taller than the last time she had hugged the immortal fifteen year old.

"We saw all your markers, nice job with the tunnels. Lady Artemis has put hunters on each entrance to guard them." Thalia said, also in full hunter armour, glinting a violent silver.

"We have also reached out to my sister, for any assistance she can spare." Reyna said.

"So you're the Roman leader, huh?" Thalia stepped in front of Reyna, who visibly straightened and rested her hands on her dagger and spear.

The seven backed up a little, as the two strong demigods stared each other down, practically nose to nose. Jason looked especially nervous, but both Nico and Annabeth just glanced at each other.

Just as the tension reached an unsaid crescendo, Thalia broke out into a big grin, stepped back and held out a hand.

Reyna took her hands off her weapons, and frowned, but gripped her forearm in a handshake.

"Thanks for taking care of my little bro." Thalia said genuinely.

At this, Reyna gave her a small polite smile. "You're welcome."

Frank turned to a blushing Jason. "She's your sister?" Annabeth guessed he knew he'd seen those eyes before.

"Oh yeah," Thalia turned around, "I'm Greek, he's Roman. Not twins, as you can probably tell."

She flung an arm around Jason, causing Leo and Piper to start sniggering at how red Jason had gone. In the corner of Annabeth's eye, she caught a glimpse of Hazel slipping her hand into Frank's. Reyna and Nico watched from the sidelines with her.

As they all broke out into separate conversations, Thalia wandered over to her, silver arrows clinking together in her sheath, drawing her into a private conversation.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

Annabeth took a breath and shrugged. "I'm okay."

"There's no book out there called 'So you Died and Came back to Life', trust me, I looked, but if you ever want to talk to someone with shared life experience?" Thalia said, and pointed her thumbs towards herself. "Come find me any time."

Annabeth smiled, and felt a wave of sisterly friendship wash over her. "Thanks, Thals."

Thalia looked her over for a few seconds with piercing blue eyes. "We'll find him." she said, and her voice was low and serious. "We _will_."

Annabeth bit her lip. "I hope so." she settled on, not entirely willing to divulge her theory with anyone.

Thalia frowned a little, and Annabeth knew she could tell she was hiding something, but she was saved at the last moment, as Reyna interrupted all of them.

"Enough." she said loudly and firmly. "It's time we talked battle plans. We need to find a working relationship between all our camps that doesn't put each other at risk. Praetor's tent, now, all of you."

She turned and headed towards a large purple tent set up in the middle of the hastily put up camps, cloak billowing, and the rest followed her.

"Let's go." said Thalia.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **I just started binging Grimm, I'm on season 5, and holy balls I'd die for Nick Burkhardt what a HOT Man why is there like no fanfiction for Grimm, if anyone has a good link hmu yeah.**

 **Yo if I wrote a percy Jackson fic where I was just taking prompts for every chapter, do yall think you'd do it? What would you ask for? I reckon it'd be fun and I'm all about those reviews sisters.**


	50. Percy XXXII

**Hey guys, I'm still in shock about the thousand reviews, and I can't stop thinking about how I used to view fanfics with 1000+ reviews. In case you're reading this like five years after I (hopefully) finish this, I just want yall to know it took me like 2 years to get 1000 reviews. Divide that down and that's maybe one and a half reviews a day. And I always read em. Just think about that n drop a review huh xoxo thanks babes.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 50

Percy XXXII

Percy didn't move.

The kid blinked at him. As far as Percy could see, he wasn't armed. He looked maybe seventeen, eighteen, ginger hair, wide brown eyes, bit gangly. Percy didn't know him, and kept Riptide aloft as a warning.

"Dude- you-" the kid stammered, looking Percy up and down, his expression almost terrified. "Lord Hades?" he gasped.

Percy's eyebrows drew together, mouth dropping open a little in confusion; he flicked a glance over his shoulder. Nothing was sneaking up on him. He looked back at the kid and sized him up. He had a demigod vibe, clearly knew about the Gods. What did he call him? Hades? Yeah, _right_.

"Are you a demigod?" he asked warily.

The kid nodded slowly. "Ares is my biological father." He had a strong southern accent.

"What are you doing down here?"

"We fell. Uh- my Lord. We fell, my Lord."

Percy's eyes crinkled at little at the edges; while he wanted nothing to do with being a God, he had a gut feeling that he shouldn't dissuade this kid of his guess. As a God, people wouldn't just try to up and stab him, probably.

"You fell?" Percy questioned, a little apprehensive. "Where? How?"

The kid shrugged, before his eyes went wide and he quickly tried to explain himself. "Uh, Lord Hades, I mean, I'm not sure. We were fighting in the war, a bridge collapsed, and a couple of us fell down here."

Percy frowned. "The War? The Titan War?"

The kid nodded.

Percy felt his chest get very heavy, and his breathing came slowly and deliberately.

"You said a couple of you fell down here?"

The kid nodded again.

Percy took a breath. "Is one of them called Michael Yew?"

But Percy had to look to the side in defeat when the demigod shook his head, closing his eyes briefly. They'd never found the body. It was worth a shot.

"Was he- was he one of your children?"

Percy gave him a dry look out the corner of his eye. "How old do I look to you?"

The demigod seemed to stutter and Percy remembered he thought he was Hades. He changed the subject hastily, a little unsure of how to talk to him. After so long with monsters, the whole conversation felt surreal.

"What's your name?" he started with.

"Zach." the kid, or Zach now, said. "Can I ask- uh, sir- what are you doing here? You look like you were- have you been hunting? Are you hurt? You're covered in- do you know what that shaking was?"

"You could feel that?" Percy asked, ignoring the first part of Zach's ramblings.

Zach nodded. "Knocked the stones loose above us. We barely avoided them."

Yikes. Percy bit his lip. "Where are the rest of you?" he asked. "Have you found a way out?"

Percy saw a flash of something go through Zach's eyes, and realised that if they had found a way out, they wouldn't still be down here. He was too tired to apologise, and the son of Ares just sighed.

"If you follow me," he said, "they're about a minute away from here."

Percy nodded, and put away his sword, a little surprised to find it still pointed at Zach. He made sure he had everything before he walked over to Zach, trying his best to conceal the limp he wanted to fall into, the cuts on his leg slowly dribbling blood.

"What have you been eating down here?" Percy asked. "Do you have one of Demeter's kids with you?"

"No, sir," Zach said, "We had some food when we fell. To be honest, we were just waiting it out until someone came to rescue us."

Percy frowned. "But surely you would have run out by now? How much food did you have?"

"Just a couple tins, some snacks and the like. We haven't got much left though."

Percy caught Zach's arm to stop him, and he flinched, jerking back. He almost looked scared of Percy.

"Zach," Percy said grimly, "how long do you think you've been down here?"

Zach's eyes darted around, and his eyebrows met as realisation seemed to dawn. It wasn't a pretty picture to watch all hope drain out of someone, and Percy pinched the bridge of his nose, looking down at the floor.

"It's- it's been a week or so? Hasn't it?" Zach's voice was small, and shrill.

Percy opened his mouth to answer, but even he didn't know how long he'd been down here.

"You said the Titan War." Zach said suddenly, in a quiet voice. "The Titan War. As if it was over. As in the Titans lost. The fact that you're here alive proves that."

Percy felt sympathy for the kid, he really did. He knew what could be running through someone's head to make them look so hollow and so empty.

"It's been at least a year since you fell." Percy told him, both bluntly and gently.

Zach's head whipped up. "Who won?" he demanded.

"The Gods." Percy said carefully.

Zach didn't say anything, just turned around and kept walking. Percy followed him quietly, until the kid turned, leading him into a dark circular room. Sure enough, there were visible cracks in the ceilings, rocks broken all over the floor. Percy raised his eyebrows. There were about four other demigods there, with their arms wrapped in chains that were tied to the wall. Only they weren't cuffed, weren't prisoners like he had been; they were holding onto the chains as if they were some kind of lifeline. Percy had his own chain wrapped around his wrist, holding the end of it in his hand to keep it from view.

"This is the rest of us. The Labyrinth moves if we don't chain it down." Zach added, in a strange voice, as if all the life in him had been sucked out.

Percy gave him a once over; he looked vaguely in shock, and Percy reached out to clasp his shoulder.

"Hey, man, it'll be okay. We'll all find a way out of here, finally go home. You from Camp Half Blood?"

Zach shook his head. "Not me," he said, "but Lewis and Angus are."

At this, they looked up. In the blankness of the room, their light hair looked almost grey. Percy crouched down carefully, and made eye contact with the younger boy.

He jerked back his head instantly, scrabbling to get away.

It seemed to bring them all alive, bodies stirring. The boy next to him grabbed the small boy's head, bringing it close to himself, hushing him strictly. He seemed to be muttering something. The other two kids behind, a girl and a boy, blinked big brown eyes at him. None of them could be any older than he was.

"Who's this?" the girl with exceptionally dark skin asked Zach.

Zach put his hands in his pockets. "This is- uh- well, this is Hades. _The_ Hades. Lord Hades. The Olympian. You know, God of the dead and- stuff."

Again, Percy didn't feel the urge to correct him. Something was telling him to fly under the radar on this. He rubbed a hand over his forehead to try and cool himself down; he could still feel the heat from Tartarus in his tired bones. The girl looked at him for a long time.

"Jamila." she said eventually. "Kid of Aphrodite."

Percy nodded to the boy next to her. "And you are...?"

The youngest boy, no older than thirteen, just looked at Jamila instead, deadpan.

"He's deaf." she explained. "Hold on."

She signed something to him in rapid succession, a little restricted by the chains. Percy watched in fascination. He knew how to say 'hello' in sign language, and that was about it. He waited until they were done, then signed hello, a little hesitant in case he got it wrong.

But the boy twitched a smile, and Percy returned it instinctually. Gods, it felt good to smile again.

"His name is Ross." Jamila told him. "He's unclaimed, like Lewis and Angus. Only Zach and I are claimed."

"Don't worry. You're all over thirteen." Percy said standing up. "You should be claimed as soon as we get out."

"What?" Angus asked him curiously, Lewis' head still buried in his chest.

"Oh. Right." Percy explained. "After the War, there was a new rule introduced. All the Gods have to claim their kids by the age of thirteen."

Zach raised his eyebrows. "Really?" he asked. "Y'all agreed to that? Sir?"

Percy didn't say anything. He just looked around the room. "Did you say you had some food?" It felt wrong to eat the food of starving kids, but Percy _was_ a starving kid.

Zach nodded, but Jamila shook her head. She held up an empty can.

"Last one got emptied about a minute ago. Looks like help came just in time, huh?"

She fixed Percy with her dark eyes, and he twitched up the side of his mouth, feeling a little uncomfortable about being on the spot, for they were now all looking to him for answers.

"I'm looking for a way out as well." Percy said. "Can you all walk?"

They nodded, getting up, though the smallest boy Lewis looked a little frail. Angus seemed to be practically carrying him.

"Come on y'all, I think I know where to start." Zach said. "And if I'm right, we won't need to keep looking."

Percy shot him a quizzical look. "How do you mean?"

Zach walked to the front of their little group to take the lead, beckoning Percy. They walked side by side for a few seconds before Zach began to talk to him in low tones.

"There's someone who can help us." he whispered. "I've been talking to her a lot, she says she can help, but I can't do what she asks of us. Maybe you can."

The hairs on Percy's arms fought against the tight dry bloodstains to stand on end.

"Who?" Percy asked.

Zach shook his head. "I don't know her name, sir, I swear. I just know that she can help."

Percy gritted his teeth.

"What is she? Titan? Giant? Goddess?"

But Zach just shook his head again. "I- I think she's human."

That threw a bit of a wrench in Percy's thoughts, and he frowned. What would Gaia want with some random demigods? It had to be her.

"Hey, what's with the war paint?" Zach asked him. "If I can ask, sir."

"What? Oh." Percy had forgotten about the stripes on his face, dusty black from chin to hairline, right over his eyes. "Kind of a gift, from a friend. Should help us get out of here."

"Can't you just, like, teleport? Sir?" Zach added.

"I'm not gonna leave you down here." Percy said, too tired and too much of a rookie to shadow travel without needing intense emotion. "Where's this woman?"

"We need to find the wall with the horns engraved on it." Zach said, running his hands over the sides of the corridor, the rest of the group doing the same, though Jamila and Ross stopped occasionally to talk to one another.

"What does she look like?" Percy asked, narrowing his eyes in the gloom to try and focus his sight, looking for the horns.

"Dark hair, usually wears some kind of red necklace? She's really hot." Zach thought aloud.

Percy gave him a look.

"No, no," Zach scrambled to sort himself out, "I mean, she radiates a- a kind of heat, sir. She's _warm_. Not hot. I don't find her hot."

"I get it." Percy said, amused.

He wondered if he'd been this bad with the Gods. His twelve year old self hadn't exactly been worshipping, but he was sure he'd been a little respectful, probably. He just couldn't believe Zach thought he was Hades. He was way more tan than him. Though probably not anymore, Percy thought with a grimace, glancing at his chest, where the skin, that could be seen underneath all the ichor and blood, looked as pale as paper.

"Wait, so Zach, what was it that she wants you to do?"

Zach looked a little uncomfortable. "She wants... ingredients."

Now Percy definitely felt off.

"Ingredients." he said sharply.

"I don't know why, I promise." Zach's head whipped up at Percy's tone. "I just know that she wants them."

"Well, ingredients like what?" Percy didn't like the feeling that he was walking into another trap. "Is she a chef? A witch? A healer?"

But Zach just shook his head again, and Percy suppressed the alarming urge to hit something, choosing instead to dig his fingernails into his hand in frustration. He needed to calm down.

"Just, tell me if-"

"Found it!" came a cry behind them, and Percy clicked his jaw tightly, before turning round.

He walked over to where Angus was running a hand over a wall. There were two large horns engraved into a flat grey wall no bigger than a door, intricate designs in the dug out part.

"Alright," Percy said. "We're here. Now what?"

"We go in?" Angus said, but both Zach and Jamila shook their heads.

"We can't go in empty handed." Zach said. "She might not help us. And if she doesn't, then, then I don't know another way out. I don't. And I can't- I can't spend another- another _second_ , down _here_ while the rest of the world goes to-"

Percy stepped back warily, seeing anger flash in Zach's eyes, and the muscles in his sore shoulders twitched. The Labyrinth was practically designed to send people insane. Maybe these kids had been down here too long.

Ross stepped up, placing a hand on Zach's back, and the shaking boy straightened, running hands through his hair.

"Let's just get out of here. We'll never be able to get the ingredients anyway."

Zach turned to stomp away, but Percy caught him easily, turning him around.

Zach didn't meet his eye for a few seconds, and when he did, Percy couldn't read the expression within them.

"What ingredients?" he asked him firmly.

Zach shook his head. "We can never get them."

"Zach, listen to me." Percy tried not to snap. "We can at least try."

He'd had a new outlook on what was possible and what was not forced on him a little, and the fact that Zach didn't even seem to want to try got on his nerves a bit. Why _wouldn't_ you want to get out? Why _wouldn't_ you want to go home to camp?

Zach sighed. "She gave me a list." he said. "Not paper, she made me recite it. She wants either: the Poison of a Gorgon, the Liver of a Titan, Head of a Demigod, or the... Ichor... of an Olympian."

Percy felt himself pale a little under the gunk covering him as Zach's eyes rolled slowly onto him.

"Zach-" he started in a low voice.

"You're an Olympian." Jamila said behind him. "I can feel the power coming off you, Lord Hades, you're definitely an Olympian."

"Look-"

"We just need some of your ichor. You're already covered in it, we can just take a bit-"

"You don't understand-"

"I _do_ understand, this is the only way-!"

Zach was getting louder now, and Percy felt an ugly twisting in his mind, telling him to do something about it, as the demigod kept shouting.

"No-"

"We need to get out!" Why won't you help us? Just give us some of your ichor-!"

"I said _no_!"

Zach lunged for him, hands outstretched, eyes boring onto the ichor caked on Percy's skin, and Percy had no choice but to react. He punched Zach hard in the chest, pushing the blood, which sent him flying abnormally far away, hitting the wall behind with a loud thump.

Zach slid down like a sack of potatoes, a hand clutching his chest. He coughed on the floor, winded. The demigods around him took a step back.

Percy felt sick.

"Look." he said quietly and steadily. "You're not taking my blood. The other options may sound impossible to you, but they're not impossible overall. I don't want to hurt any of you. I just want to get out of here."

He held out a hand to Zach, who paused in fear. After a beat, and a raised eyebrow from Percy, he took it shakily, and got up, wobbling on his feet.

His breathing got faster when Percy didn't let go of his hand.

"I don't want to hurt you. But if you do something like that again," Percy said in a rough voice, making the blood drain out of Zach's face, "you won't get back up. Do you understand?"

Zach nodded quickly, wriggling his hand in Percy's stone grip. Percy let him go and he took a couple steps backwards. Kids of Ares never thought about their actions. Percy breathed out slowly, hating how they all looked at him, how the gap between him and them seemed to be so much more than just a few feet.

"Poison of a Gorgon, Liver of a Titan. Head of a Demigod is obviously out of the question." Percy said, with forced casualness, "We can do that."

No one spoke.

Percy grinded his teeth together. "Any of you seen either of those down there?"

They didn't answer him, just watched him with the wary eyes of young demigods, eyes that Percy was sure he'd seen in the mirror before, a long time ago.

"I'm gonna need you to answer me, or we'll get nowhere with this." Percy sighed, feeling a sudden bond to Paul as a teacher facing a silent class.

There was more quiet, then Lewis stepped forwards.

"Thank you, Lewis." Percy said, surprised that the quiet kid was now looking him in the eye.

"I've seen a Titan not too far from here, sir." he whispered. "Big. Green. Smelly."

Percy blanked. All titans were big and smelly. Green?

"Like, his skin was green, or...?"

Lewis shook his head, and Percy noticed for the first time a long scar that disappeared under his hair. "Hair. Fishy."

"You don't mean Oceanus, do you?" Percy asked, recalling the Titan.

He'd only seen him a couple times, last time during the Titan war, when Oceanus was finally convinced to try and kill Poseidon. He could be difficult to kill; Percy would have to use Adamas more than he would his control over ichor.

Percy frowned, but nodded. "Yeah. We can get him. Where did you see him?"

"Water." Lewis said. "Lots of water, Lord Hades. Two Titans."

"Wait, what-" Jamila interrupted- "Two titans? We can't kill a titan, let alone two titans at the same time."

"I could." Percy stated, "Right now the most difficult thing is finding them."

He turned to Lewis, who was chewing his lip, blonde hair falling in his eyes. He only came up to Percy's chest. Maybe he was a bit younger than Percy had guessed, and seemed to have taken a few too many hits to the head, he thought, with a hint of worry.

"Lewis." he bent over slightly to see the boy. "Can you please show us where you saw them? Or just give us the general direction?"

"It changes."

"Anything can be useful. You chained down that room, right? If that hasn't moved, not much that's close outside of it should either." Percy's logic was flawed, but he needed what they knew, and a little lie seemed to have Lewis nodding, his hand clenched firmly in Angus'.

"This way." he said, turning around and leading the group down a corridor to the right.

Zach stayed at the back of the group this time, and Percy didn't have to be psychic to know he was having daggers stared at him, and not just by Zach. He kept his head up, and his hand close to the drakon bone sword.

His eyes wandered as Lewis turned a corner, then another, then another. The Labyrinth had seemed a lot scarier last time he was in it. Now? Percy didn't know. It felt like a haunted house that had recently been painted and cleaned. It had lost some of the spook.

The air was cooler than Tartarus, and lighter too, to the point that whenever Percy caught sight of himself, he winced. In any light, he did not look good. He prodded his face as they turned yet another corner. The bump in his nose was so dislodged and prominent, Percy half expected it to be loose and wobbly. Yet when he poked it, it was tight and hard, swollen to a dangerous extent. And it hurt a lot, so he stopped poking it.

Suddenly, Percy walked straight into Angus, who flinched away. Percy averted his eyes, looking to Lewis instead.

"Saw it here." the boy whispered, and a small hand snaked to the back of his head, where he clutched the same place Percy had seen the scar.

He gritted his teeth. Right.

"Gimme a second." he told them.

He needed to focus. Water. That was what Lewis had told him. Lots of water. Percy closed his eyes. Why was he doing this? Why couldn't he just force this woman to help them? Percy breathed out through his nose. Right, either torture an unknown woman to help him, or cut out the liver of a Titan who had sided with Kronos. Neither sounded ideal, but he knew which one he was more on board with. He'd deal with the other Titan when he found out who it was-

There. Water. Not too far away, two rights and a couple more lefts.

Percy opened his eyes, suddenly aware of how exposed he had made himself to a group of demigods who clearly didn't trust him anymore. They were all watching him carefully.

"Yeah, there's something going down not too far from here. You lot stay here, I'll check it out first." he ordered them as clearly as he could, really not needing them to get in the crossfire.

They frowned at that, but didn't contest him on it.

Percy hesitantly nodded, before turning and going down the tunnel on the right. The closer he got, the more water he could feel. If it was Oceanus, he'd have to dispel that water, or they'd both be fighting over it.

Deep in thought, Percy walked smack bang into someone.

"I said, wait back th-" Percy stopped.

It wasn't one of the demigods.

It was a woman. She looked familiar.

With long golden hair that zigzagged down her back in an elaborate ladder weave, and bronze arms that glowed against her pale green sundress, she looked a hades of a lot like Apollo.

"Leto?" Percy asked, getting antsy with the way she was staring at him.

She nodded.

"Oh." Percy said. "Hi."

He didn't know what to do. On one hand, here was a titan, practically on a plate for him. Percy blinked and he could see himself cutting her stomach, getting her liver, and getting the hades out of there in under a minute. On the other hand, she was Artemis and Apollo's mother, and he'd heard what happened to those who attacked her. Percy didn't need to be making anymore enemies than he already had.

Percy closed his eyes again, only this time the twisting face of Tartarus swirled into view, just stood atop the cliff, boring into his soul with a single lone and dead look.

Percy's eyes fluttered to get rid of the image, head tilting down, a sick feeling in his stomach at the memory of it.

Leto was still stood there, observing him.

"Your eyes-" she said, and Percy cut her off, having heard it a million times before and not in the mood for small talk, especially when he was about to go murder her uncle.

"Just like Poseidon's, I know-"

"No." She shook her head. "They remind me of Auntie Rhea's."

Percy raised his eyebrows. "Oh." he said stupidly, more than surprised.

"Those Gods? Fools, the lot of them. Except Artemis and Apollo, of course," she added, smiling with a motherly fondness.

"Your kids." Percy nodded, unsure about the casual way she spoke to him.

"Oh, you've met them?" she asked, a caring crease in her forehead appearing. "How'd you get along? Did they play nice?"

"Uh- yeah. Yeah, they're okay. Some of the better Gods. I think Artemis is one of those who actually prefers that I stay alive, which, considering I'm a dude, is pretty good for her."

Leto nodded thoughtfully, before continuing. "Anyway, no, like I was saying, Zeus and Ares and the like, they all have the swirly and flashy eyes. They give away their power too easily, and that's why they make so many enemies. No," she bounced a pointing finger at him, "You remind me of Auntie Rhea. Same black hair, same cheekbones, and the same eyes. People always forget she's the Queen of the Titans."

With that, she sidestepped him, and wandered down another tunnel. Percy stared after her. Right. Okay then.

Feeling a little unsettled, Percy kept walking towards the water feeling. He tried to let the conversation go. She didn't seem like the type to set him up.

He stuck his head round a corner and nodded. Jackpot.

It was a wide rectangular room, full of water but as if it was in an aquarium, the water a solid wall that didn't spill into the tunnels. Inside, two titans were sat on chairs talking, one with a huge scaley merman tail that draped elegantly around the chair legs.

"You said we'd go somewhere nice for our anniversary!" the female titan complained. "Not the Labyrinth!"

"Tethys, think about the _history_ of it! This place is a masterpiece!" replied the other titan.

"Hmm. A dark maze full of dust. How _romantic_. I'm just glad you left that silly trident at home." Tethys replied, but smiled at the end, "You're lucky I love you."

"I gave up fighting for you, my love. You at least owe me a couple days vacation."

It was Oceanus and his wife, big titans, strong and powerful. Percy unsheathed Adamas, putting Riptide away. He stuck close to the corner, peering into the room and mapping as much as he could out. There were a few cracks in the stones in the corner, and Percy tilted his head forwards, focusing on them.

He imagined the water in the room draining through those cracks, and he felt it begin to follow his lead. A gurgling noise bubbled up as the water level began to drop.

Oceanus jumped to his feet, whipping his head around.

"Oceanus?" cried Tethys. "What is it?"

Oceanus dark eyes scanned around. "Someone's controlling the water." he said.

Percy saw Tethys jump up as well. Oceanus took her hand as the water drained to ankle level, drying the both of them off instantly. Where Percy had seen a long merman tail before, he now saw human legs. They both looked alarmed, and Percy took that as his cue.

He stepped out into the room. Both titans zeroed in on him, though Oceanus' gaze flickered towards Adamas briefly.

"Who are you?" Tethys demanded. "Why have you interrupted us?"

"Tethys, wait." Oceanus said, letting go of her hand to instead hold it out in front of her in warning, and his eyes were now firmly fixated upon Adamas.

He glanced up once, and made eye contact with Percy, who had no idea what to say, so remained silent. It wasn't as if he could walk up to them and go ' _Oh, hello Mr and Mrs Titan, yes, I'd like your liver please, you can choose whose'._ Oceanus stepped forwards, almost hesitantly, and Percy found himself frowning.

"Brother?" Oceanus ventured, quietly in the still dripping room.

Percy tried to keep the confusion off his face. _What_? As far as he knew, Percy could sense nothing behind him. Oceanus was definitely talking to him, even if he kept glancing at his sword. His sword. Why did he keep looking at his sword? Brother?

His _sword_.

 _That_ was it.

Oh Gods, Oceanus thought he was possessed by Kronos.

What was it about him that made people think he was other people? His sword must give out the same energy as Kronos' scythe, a vaguely disgusting thought, but not something he could help. But possibly something he could play to his advantage. Percy glanced at Tethys, determined to make this work for him.

"Go home, Tethys." he told her as coldly as he could make his voice, no doubt making Lupa proud with his icy wolf stare.

Tethys paled and glanced at Oceanus, who didn't take his eyes off Percy, but reached a hand out to her, squeezing it gently. "Go, darling." he told her. "I'll meet you there."

Tethys' eyes flicked between the two uncertainly, but acquiesced, the air shimmering around her before she vanished, leaving just Percy and Oceanus in the room.

"Brother, I did not know you were rising. And you reek of ichor, it's all I can smell. How- who have you possessed?" Oceanus looked very tense from where he stood.

Percy paused in an attempt to try to think. He stepped further into the room, into more light.

"Haven't you ever heard of Percy Jackson?" he asked Oceanus, who gasped, and collapsed into his seat.

"Brother, how in _Tartarus_ did you get him?" the titan asked.

"Funnily enough, Jackson was in Tartarus." Percy said, taking another step forwards, not sure of what angle he was playing, so he was just trying to tell the truth.

"I'd heard he was down there, but I never thought- wait." Oceanus cut himself off, leaning forwards in his chair. "Is he the one that they call Godkiller then? He has to be."

Percy worked hard to not let his surprise show, simply nodding instead. So he was famous.

Oceanus whistled as Percy took another step closer. He was less than ten feet away from him.

"Things I heard about that guy, I wouldn't have guessed that would be Poseidon's kid."

"Didn't you fight Poseidon in the last war?"

Oceanus turned an ugly purple colour, clashing with his long green hair, like seaweed. "He bested me." he hissed, before composing himself. "He had a lot more reinforcements, I may have law of the land but he has both law and loyalty, I mean, the Atlantic was always neutral, but the Pacific? No way, I mean-"

Oceanus kept talking, perhaps a little nervous in what he thought was his youngest brother's presence. Percy just kept edging his way forward, staring at the lower half of the titan's stomach, where he vaguely knew the liver was.

He could hear Oceanus' talking getting faster as he got closer, and he unconsciously gripped Adamas tightly. He looked up. Oceanus had stopped talking. He was staring at Percy with wide eyes.

"Wait- your eyes-"

Percy didn't give him time to finish, slashing through the air with Adamas, just as Oceanus propelled himself backwards.

He didn't move fast enough, and Percy caught him across the stomach, but not deeply enough to kill. Oceanus backed away from him, leaving the chair where it had crashed to the floor.

"You're not Kronos." Oceanus said, eyes flicking towards the exit. "How did you get that sword?"

"I made it." Percy replied, as they circled each other.

"I don't fight anymore." Oceanus said.

"That's not my problem."

"I just want to be happy with my wife, I don't want trouble. If this is about me fighting your father in the Titan War, Godkiller, he won. He _won_ , and it's over."

"This isn't about that."

"Well then what is it about? Money? I can give you five hundred drachma to leave. One hundred sand dollars."

"This isn't about money," Percy said, annoyed, "This isn't even about you."

Oceanus' brows knotted together, his hands twitching. Without a weapon, Percy knew he would have to improvise. Sure enough, Oceanus grabbed Tethys' chair and threw it at him. Percy flung himself to the ground as it exploded into shards, already rolling to slice at Oceanus' ankles.

The titan howled, kicking him backwards like one would do to a rabid dog, pressing his large hands over his wounds. Percy recalled when Kronos had cut his leg with Backbiter; it had felt like his leg was on fire. The damage the scythe could do was unparalleled. Until now.

Oceanus was panting, clutching at his wounds. Percy shook his head as the titan collapsed against the wall.

"Really?" he said. "That's the best you can do?"

"This is no fight," Oceanus said, groaning, "This is my execution, and you know it."

Percy faltered. It didn't feel right, but he needed to do it. He just locked his jaw, and put away Adamas. Through the sheen of sweat, Oceanus gave him a confused look, which quickly turned to horror as he uncapped Riptide instead.

Oceanus whispered a word in the Tongue of the Old Times, and Percy flinched; he knew that word.

Percy swung as Oceanus tried to make a break for it by firing a weak water blast that went wide, Percy catching him again on the stomach, crossing over the previous slash and forcing him back to the ground, breathing heavily in the corner.

"Please don't-" Percy put his shoe on Oceanus' throat; he didn't need to hear that right now.

"X marks the spot." Percy murmured to himself, looking at the vivid cross on Oceanus' stomach, and he lifted his sword, using his powers to keep Oceanus in place, and from struggling.

He saw Oceanus' wide eyes reflected in the blade as he stabbed downwards.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Hmm just gonna leave it here, that last sentence feels like a power move. What is this? An actually recent update? Only a couple days after the last post? I spoil yall, gimme some love xoxo. Jeez whys this such a long chapter just checked the word count and gasped.**

 **Guest reviewer Milk: hey dude you know I can't reply if you're a guest, yeah? Also no sorry, u can't send an image in a review, that would have been cool tho, keep hypin man ily**


	51. Percy XXXIII

**Hey y'all what is going down in Chinatown I'm sat at college and they just brought in a drug sniffer dog haha xoxo leave a review or dab it's your choice and you know the right one to choose.**

 **I had a gatsby essay due in today for 1000 words, and I literally just faked half a page so I could say I'd hand in the rest on Tuesday. The last chapter I posted on here was 6000 words. I wrote it in one sitting. The duality of man.**

 **Oof why are all my recent chapters so lonG**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 51

Percy XXXIII

He walked through the tunnels silently.

A steady drip, drip, drip, followed him in the quiet and dead air around him.

He clenched his hand, feeling warmth dribble through the gaps in his fingers.

Percy's breathing was steady, eyes trained on to whatever was right in front of him. He turned corners automatically, not even bothering to check what was round it.

The face of tartarus reared up in his head again, the image getting stronger, as if it had never left him, just faded, still watching him with that immortal and unmoving expression. It felt like a hand was gripping his heart in his chest, squeezing it manually, out of his control.

Percy gasped aloud, free hand coming up to grip the side of his head. He stumbled to lean against the nearest wall, letting it support him, and dug his fist onto his forehead. He needed to get that out of his head. He couldn't see it again. The wall was cool, and he pressed his hot face onto it, as if to somehow ease his brain.

"What do you want from me?" he whispered against the stone, eyes scrunched shut.

That face, that damned face- it just stared straight through him, and Percy saw it all around him, even as he opened his eyes, just _looking_ at him. There were no words, no feelings, just the horrifying swirling whirlpool of magma and stone, the inward spiral of darkness.

It was like he was back there; still dangling from the stalactite by his cracked and torn nails, body and teeth clenched. Black sky, black ground, and that unnerving black face focusing only on him, as if nothing else even existed but the two of them.

The word Oceanus had whispered in the Tongue of the Old Times swam around in his head, sometimes in his voice, sometimes in Koios' voice, but most often in his own; he hated that he knew what that word meant. He'd never wanted to hear any of that language, let alone _understand_ some of it.

Percy's knees shook. He lifted his eyes, breathing in and out as slowly as he could. He hated it. He hated that face, if it could even be called that. He pictured something, anything, just to get it out of his head.

He pictured the beach at Camp, saw the sand and the waves, could almost hear the sounds of swords clanging behind him. The image prevailed for a few seconds, but Percy clenched his eyes in horror as the scene distorted, noises disappearing and the air growing warmer. Percy looked around. He paled.

Tartarus was just stood there a little way down the beach, and though Percy was not close to him, he knew he was still watching.

"Go _away_!" Percy snapped, one hand still outstretched on the wall to keep himself upright.

He staggered forwards. Percy squeezed the liver in his other hand, feeling the ichor, trying to concentrate, shaking his head in an attempt to erase the image, throw the face out of his head.

Okay, no beach, no beach, he thought, and the towering form vanished. He was- he was in his cabin, then. He was lying in his bunk, Tyson in the one next to him, and they were chatting til the early hours of the morning. Percy felt his stomach twisting still, but just kept that image in his head, forcing out all other thoughts. It was hard to try to not think about something, and Percy could feel each time it tried to force its way into his head.

He took a couple steps forwards, glaring at his holey shoes, breathing heavily. So long as he just focused on his shoes and nothing else, he could outlast him. He wasn't here. He wasn't looking at him. He wasn't.

Percy had never felt so relieved to hear a scream in the distance.

His head whipped up, and he sprinted in the direction of where he had left the kids. They were being attacked no doubt, and he grabbed Adamas as he ran, a voice in his head unapologetically thankful for the distraction.

He skidded around a corner and came to a grinding halt.

He saw Jamila and Zach with their daggers brandished, staring up with angry eyes at a large form, Lewis on the floor against the wall, curled up into a ball. Face down on the floor lay Ross and Angus. They weren't moving.

Zach caught his eye. "Help us!" he cried.

Percy hesitated, just for a heartbeat. The beast turned around. It was Tethys, and she had not transported above the labyrinth like he had thought, but had stayed instead. She'd probably thought Oceanus would win. She was a little shorter than your average titan, but her eyes raged in the familiar flame of revenge.

"You!" Tethys cried. "I heard the whole thing! You killed him! _You_ -"

Her mad eyes landed on his hand, and Percy reared back instantly as he followed her eyeline, and he attacked, throwing his sword at her with all his strength.

It hit her directly in the chest, embedded deep.

Jamila and Zach backed off, watching as the female titan dropped to her knees. Her mouth opened and closed, but she made no sound. Percy watched her closely as he slowly moved forwards, ready to strike again. His now free hand hovered around the cap of Riptide; he didn't trust Titans. If he had, he would have forced Oceanus to take him to the surface. Confident that Tethys wouldn't fight back, Percy reached forwards, Tethys' wide and glazed eyes following his blackened fingertips, and he pulled out his sword with a slow and sickening squelch.

Tethys struggled to take in air for the next few seconds before she stopped altogether. Her body slumped, sinking into gold dust. Zach and Jamila glanced at each other, and Percy could feel them watching his every move. He didn't care, choosing instead to focus on Lewis, taking a step over Angus' limp arm with a heavy sigh.

"Lewis." Percy began, crouching next to the huddle of demigod. "Hey, Lewis, can you look at me?"

Lewis glanced up at him with wide, panic fuelled eyes. "I- I- I- I-"

He was stammering almost violently, and Percy nodded understandingly, having been in his position more than once, the type of anxiety that left you stammering, and then angry that you were stammering, which just caused you to stammer more. Though as Percy looked over Lewis, he didn't seem angry, more scared; he flinched away as Percy tried to support his weight and lift him up, and Percy backed off.

Percy glanced at Jamila and Zach, and turned so Lewis couldn't hear him.

"What happened to him?" Percy asked.

"He gets like this sometimes." Zach said, and Percy caught a hint of bitterness in his voice, and frowned, unsure if it was directed at Lewis or him.

He glanced back at Lewis for a couple seconds. "The scar on his head..." Percy started quietly.

"He got it when his parents were killed." Jamila said shortly.

Ah. Percy nodded tightly. He got it now. "Titans got them?"

But Percy was surprised when Zach gave a sharp shake of his head instantly, a dark scowl flashing over his face like a clap of lightning, and Percy knew he was wrong. Jamila crossed her arms and glared fiercely at Percy's chest.

"No." Zach snapped, with an unexpected level of venom in his voice, "They were killed by one of the Gods."

Oh for the love of the- Percy winced; his luck was officially the worst in the world, and he restrained himself from letting out a large sigh.

"I see." he said instead.

Percy glanced back at Lewis, who had stopped his shivering and stuttering, and was now curled up tightly. His eyes were shut. Percy couldn't be bothered to deal with the two angry demigods next to him anymore; Percy wasn't stupid, they'd made it clear whose side they were on. And right now Percy wasn't in any mood to convince them of the good in the Gods. He knelt down by Lewis.

"Hey, Lewis." Percy said, and though he tried to make his voice soft, it came out hard and gritty. "Lewis, man, can you look at me?"

Lewis didn't move, and Percy really did sigh this time. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zach and Jamila dragging the bodies of Angus and Ross into a pile. They kept their sniffles quiet, but in the ghostly air flowing through the Labyrinth, it was difficult to mute entirely. Percy tried to tune them out. He turned his head to keep them out his peripheral vision. He felt as if he was intruding on their moment, only he wasn't sure if it was because of the God-persona he had adopted, or it was just down to him being... well, _him_.

He slowly reached out to Lewis, lightly gripping his shoulder. He frowned at the black fingerprints he left on Lewis' grey shirt.

"Lewis." he said, a little shortly. "Lewis, open your eyes."

The kid still didn't move, so Percy pushed him back a little, and that was when Percy zeroed in on it. The huge blood stain on Lewis' stomach.

"Oh." Percy stared at it, sinking back on to his haunches.

The light was better than Tartarus, much better, but it was still kind of dim, like a background light. It made everything look grey. Which was why Percy hadn't picked up on the sickly colour of Lewis' skin. Blood didn't smell until it was dry either.

Percy sat there for a couple beats, unsure of what to do now. Lewis was dead, had been for the last few minutes he'd been talking to him. He frowned.

Footsteps came behind him, followed by a loud gasp and a vehement exclamation.

"Oh _Gods_!"

"Is he- _is he-_?"

"Uh- yeah." Percy said awkwardly. "He's dead."

His arms tensed up when Zach lashed out, smacking the wall with his fists with a loud cry: "Godammit!"

Percy stood up, watching the two demigods warily. Their faces were twisted in emotion, and Percy didn't know what to say to reassure them. In fact, he wasn't sure if he _wanted_ to reassure them. Sure, he felt sympathy, but they all had their own plans to get out of the Labyrinth, and Percy was pretty sure he was going to get the short stick of their plans. Instead, he just stood there and waited.

Jamila came back to life first, sniffing sharply and wiping her eyes. "Let's just get that stupid liver and get the styx out of here." she snapped, pulling Zach up not too gently.

Zach wobbled for a second, hiding his face. "Yeah," he said roughly behind a thick hand, "We gotta go. They would have wanted us to get out."

Percy took that as his cue to make a move, stepping closer. ''Do you remember the way back to that place?" he asked the both of them.

Zach looked at him this time, and Percy was a little unnerved at the hatred he saw briefly in his eyes. Zach breathed very slowly for a couple seconds before he nodded, hesitantly at first, but then more confidently, exchanging a look with Jamila, as if Percy couldn't blatantly see them conspiring. He hoped he was a little smoother when he was lying.

"Come on." Zach said, before turning and stomping away, taking Jamila's hand.

Jamila followed him, and Percy glanced between them before moving as well. He watched their backs as they walked, the pair in deep conversation, and for a split second, he saw Jamila with long blonde curls, Zach with messy black hair. This could have been him and Annabeth if they had sided with Luke, he thought. They both certainly resented the Gods to have at least considered the possibility once or twice. Percy remembered what he had told Koios during his imprisonment in Tartarus. While it was vaguely true, Koios always seemed to have known he was lying; they both knew the Gods were the lesser of two evils. Things will change, Percy thought to himself, especially with the camps coming together, they would have to pay more attention.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Zach and Jamila began patting the wall in front of them. It had the same horns engraved onto it; they were here.

"How do we get in?" Percy asked.

"Knock." Zach said, staring firmly at the wall.

The son of Ares lifted his hand, and thumped on the stone a couple times. To Percy's surprise, the stone slid smoothly to the side, a cloud of dust and stone spilling out of the narrow passageway revealed.

"Neat." Percy said.

"You first." Zach jerked his head in the direction of the tunnel.

"I don't think so." Percy shut him down immediately, not really wanting to be stabbed in the back. "Off you go."

"For Gods' sake, I'll go." Jamila stamped into the tunnel, Zach shooting Percy a dirty look before going after her.

Honestly, if he truly was Hades, Zach probably would have been smited by now. Smited? Smoted? _Smote_? Percy didn't know. Zach would have been dropped like a hotcake is what he meant. Percy ducked into the passageway and followed them.

The square cavern it led into looked like a lost and found room.

Huge metal shelves scraped the top of the high arched ceiling. Scattered along them was a whole range of mismatched objects, full of clutter, nearly toppling the shelves over. A foul and thick smell reached his nose, like a combination of a damp loft and a bin full of rotting eggs. Percy recoiled, yet with two hands full, all he could do was breathe out his mouth instead. Percy could see someone in the middle through the tiny gaps inbetween boxes. He craned his neck upwards, but the only thing he could see was a faint pink glow lighting up the shadows.

He wrinkled his nose as they weaved through the maze of shelves. Was that an _eye_ he could see? Oh. _Oh_. And a whole _box_ of eyes behind that, stacked high. Come to think of it, Percy thought as he looked around, there were piles of body parts everywhere, arms hanging in bags on the shelf poles and wings crammed underneath and into gaps. Explains the smell, he thought grimly, as his hand twitched again in an aborted attempt to cover his nose.

Another turn in the maze of body parts finally led them to the middle. There was a clear gap in all the shelves, revealing a sort of workspace square. The only source of light in the room was a bubbling cauldron resting on the grey flagstones, full of a pink liquid Percy guessed wasn't a strawberry shake.

A figure was stood with her back to them, one finger whirling in the air, a spoon in the cauldron following her movements. She wore an elegant sleeveless dress of woven gold, with her dark hair piled into a cone encircled with diamonds and emeralds. She had bare feet, and the same red necklace Zach had described before, a pendant like a miniature maze around her neck, and the cord was set with rubies that were like crystallized blood drops.

Percy didn't know why he was so surprised that she really existed; he'd been doing all of this for someone he'd only ever been told about. He'd just wanted to get out so desperately that he'd been willing to believe anything, try anything. He'd thought that she would have been Gaia though, which was why he hadn't let go of Adamas yet.

"Zach, darling, I trust you have good reason to return." the woman spoke suddenly without turning around, and Percy winced at the volume of her rich voice, so used to trying to be quiet in Tartarus.

Zach nodded, even though she couldn't see. "I have what you asked for." he said.

At this, the woman's finger slowed, and the spoon clunked to the side of the cauldron as it came to a halt. She turned around. And froze.

"Oh no." said Percy.

" _You_!" she hissed.

"Oh no." Percy repeated.

"You dare show your face here?" the woman demanded, and a couple jars behind her smashed.

"You know each other?" Jamila piped up hesitantly.

"Not _really_ -" Percy tried before he was cut off.

"He killed my son! _Twice_!" the woman stamped her foot.

"It's not like he won't respawn!"

"That doesn't matter!"

"I mean, does it count if it was self defence?"

"No!"

"That's good, 'cause it wasn't _really_ , but I thought I'd try it-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Zach interrupted their argument. "You killed her son? Who was her son?"

"It's not who was her son, it's who _is_ her son, he's not even dead." Percy protested.

"Why are you even here? I heard you fell into Tartarus!"

"Yeah, and I got out, and now I'm here! I was told you'd help in exchange for 'ingredients' or whatever, but now? Yeah, I don't think so."

"Both of you, stop!" Jamila shouted, before flinching at the glares she received. "Who are you?" she asked the woman.

She drew herself up to her full height. "I am Pasiphaë." she snapped. " Immortal Sorceress, Mistress of Magical Herbal Arts and Daughter of Helios. Mother of the Minotaur, which your little friend here saw fit to slay not once, but twice! And it was his _father's_ fault that my son was imprisoned to begin with!"

"Kronos?" Jamila asked, confused.

"What?" Pasiphaë replied, looking puzzled.

Percy opened his mouth to explain, but Zach took the lead, reaching down and snatching the liver out of Percy's hand.

"Look, I don't care about your grudge against him! We just want to get out of here. I listened to what you told me before- one ingredient for a potion, two ingredients for a favour, three for a spell and four for you to kill someone! _Here_!"

Zach thrust out his hand, offering out the liver. Pasiphaë took it with interest.

"The liver of a titan." she said, almost in awe.

She glanced at Percy. "You were the one who got this, weren't you?"

Percy nodded.

"Wait, wait, wait-" Zach said. "Hades may have got it, but I'm giving it to you. You owe us the favour."

Pasiphaë raised an eyebrow at Percy, who made a face. Again, he felt that strange disconnection from the demigods next to him, but he put it down to both him and Pasiphaë knowing something they didn't. The Sorceress didn't give anything away, instead just let Zach finish his speech.

"Ah," she said, once he was done, "but you weren't really listening were you? I said _two_ ingredients for a favour."

Percy felt his head begin to ache.

"I know." Zach said, almost proudly. "We _have_ two. We have the liver of a titan. And," he looked a deadpan Percy up and down, "the ichor of an Olympian."

There was a beat of silence where both Jamila and Zach took out their weapons. Then Pasiphaë burst into laughter.

It visibly rattled the two demigods, but Percy just felt the insane urge to join the witch in her high peals of laughter, letting his mouth twitch instead.

"What's so funny?" Zach demanded, causing her to laugh harder, "We brought you Hades! He's an Olympian and he has ichor! _Two_ ingredients, _one_ favour, get us the _styx_ outta here!"

The witch cackled for a little bit more, wiping at her eyes and snorting. "You- you _idiots!"_ she got out eventually, trying to compose herself but failing. "Fools! All you demigods are the same!"

She straightened up a little, mirth turning spiteful at the two bewildered demigods, that Percy wasn't sure if he should feel sorry for or not. "Well, every demigod except you, of course," she gestured to Percy, ''though let's face it, I hear you're more monster than demigod these days. Whose ichor is splattered across you this time?"

Jamila whipped around. "You're a _demigod_?" she cried.

"I never _said_ I was Hades, you just assumed." Percy shrugged.

Zach looked as if the world had dropped out from below his feet.

"No." he shook his head. "No. When we were attacked by that titan, you- you hesitated, I saw you. A God would never help us. You _have_ to be one of them."

Pasiphaë leant back on her cauldron and watched as the two demigods rounded on him, and Percy knew that if she could summon popcorn, she would.

"We've just been following another demigod this entire time." Zach said, in a numb voice.

"Who are you then?" Jamila snapped. "Some deadbeat kid of Hermes?"

Percy raised his eyebrows. "You really don't recognise me?" he asked.

Though he hated how big headed and arrogant it sounded to him, he really would have thought they would have remembered him. After all, surely he was the number one target for Kronos' army in the titan war.

"Recognise you?" Zach asked. "Why would we?"

"You were working for Kronos, he must have told you who you were fighting against. Don't tell me he didn't?" Percy asked them in mock horror. "Right? That's why you tried to kill the rest of us? Because you thought Kronos would pay more attention to you than the Gods?"

Both demigods paled as he revealed their true allegiance. What, they thought he was stupid enough to not pick up on it?

"The Gods don't care about us!" Jamila said with conviction. "They're too busy sat on their fancy thrones to give a damn about any of us!"

"And you thought that the way to get back at them was to let a mass murdering titan, who hates demigods just as much as he hates gods, take control over the world, just so he could burn it down, kill every mortal in it, including your families and friends, and create a world where monsters roam free." His tone grew more bitter and sarcastic as he spoke and the urge to laugh was gone.

" _You're_ criticising a mass murderer? _You_?" Pasiphaë drawled from the side.

"You stay out of this, I'll deal with you in a minute." Percy told her, before facing the pair again, who had begun shifting restlessly since he had called them out.

"Who are you?" Jamila demanded again, eyes burning with anger. "Why should we recognise you?"

"Come on," Pasiphaë called from the side, "Black hair, green eyes, tattoos, usually covered in blood? Everyone knows Percy Jackson."

Zach and Jamila glanced at each other in shock before their faces twisted and they turned furious glares onto him.

"Thanks." Percy told Pasiphaë, who just smugly raised an imaginary glass to him, "No, really, thanks a lot."

"Jackson." Zach growled.

"Don't even try it." Percy warned them, lifting his sword.

"Hey Pasiphaë," Jamila called, and the witch looked over from where she was watching with rapt interest, "One of those ingredients was the head of a demigod, right?"

Pasiphaë nodded, a wide grin on her face.

Jamila lifted her sword and pointed it at Percy, who just sighed.

"Will _his_ head do?"

"It most certainly could" the witch nodded, flashing Percy a smirk. "What's the favour?"

"Get us out of here." Jamila said, not taking her eyes off Percy. "Can you do that?"

"Of course I can," Pasiphaë snapped, looking affronted. "After that moron Daedalus died, I took over down here. One click of my fingers and the Labyrinth moves to wherever I want it to. You get his head, I'll take you to Barbados."

"Done." Zach said.

And they leapt at him.

Percy didn't even get the chance to take a breath, kicking Zach in the chest where he knew he had left a bruise from before. The boy flew backwards with a yelp, and Percy quickly blocked a stab from Jamila, disarming her the way Like had taught him, not missing the irony. They had followed in Luke's footsteps, and now, they were going to end up just like him. He caught Jamila's fist in his hand, kicking the backs of her knees, causing her to crash to the floor. She punched at his stomach fruitlessly. Zach groaned behind as he got up.

"My ribs," he moaned, lifting his shirt to look, "You've broken my ribs."

Percy glanced down, and blew a breath out his nose; Zach's chest was bumpy and out of place, almost as purple as his face. The son of Ares growled as he saw the damage, pulling himself up, before shoving one of the shelves over.

Percy dived to the side as the whole thing tilted and fell, boxes and bags sliding off and piling onto a too-slow Jamila, who cried out in pain. Percy watched as one stone head that looked as if Medusa had got to it slowly slid down the shelf directly above Jamila's head.

"No!" Zach cried, leaping forwards as the daughter of Aphrodite strained to lift the heavy frame off of her in panic.

Percy's eyebrows scrunched together. She was just a kid. A kid who had sided with Kronos and had tried to kill him. But she was still a kid. A demigod, not a monster. He could help. Or he couldn't. He could. Or he couldn't. He would or he wouldn't.

He had to try.

Percy joined Zach, grabbing one of Jamila's hands and pulling. They all strained, and for a second, it all began to shift, Jamila almost coming free.

But they hadn't been watching the stone head.

Percy's eyes widened. He gave one last pull, but it was too late.

"No!" Zach yelled again.

The stone head tipped over the edge, and hit Jamila's head with a sickening crunch. After a second or two, trickles of blood began to run along the cracks in the flagstones below.

Percy dropped the hand as if it had burned him. What was he thinking? Why had he done that? Percy shook his head, and took a step back, away from Zach, who was staring at his unmoving friend. It could have been that she was a demigod, or maybe Percy just didn't dislike her enough to want her dead. It didn't matter now. He wouldn't try something like that again.

"She's dead." sobbed Zach.

Percy exchanged a look with Pasiphaë, which was disconcerting within itself.

"You did this." Zach said suddenly, whipping his head around, and in the dark pink glow of the room, the tears in his eyes glittered with rage.

"I mean, technically, you were the one who pushed the shelves over." Percy said tiredly.

"No, all of this, this is all your fault!" he shouted. "We were all _fine_ until you showed up! _Alive_ , and _happy_ and waiting to be rescued! We didn't know how long we'd really been down here and we were better off not knowing!" Zach got to his feet, his blood soaked hands shaking, "And the titans losing the war- I bet you had something to do with that as well! Or- or you had something to do with us falling, or the ceiling collapsing when you first showed up- that was all _you!_ "

Percy didn't know what to say. Technically, Zach was right.

"You've killed all my friends." Zach said, and there was a lonely sadness about his voice.

"I didn't mean to." Percy told him quietly. "You chose to fight me."

"Don't take it personally, demigod," Pasiphaë chimed in, "Death tends to follow him."

"You're not helping." Percy hissed.

"Who says I want to?" she replied. "Can both of you just get on with it so I can make a deal with the other? You've given me a liver, so who's gonna get the reward?"

"Gods, Zach, just _don't_ -"

But the demigod was already on his feet and charging Percy. Percy dodged to the side with a scowl, grabbing Zach's blood. He wrinkled his nose. Human blood felt different to ichor. It was thinner, more watery and fragile. It felt alive and pulsing in his grip, and Percy frowned, pushing Zach to his knees before letting go.

The demigod thumped to the floor. "What was that?" he demanded in panic. " _How_ did you - did you _just-_ "

Percy sighed. Though there were exceptions, he hated killing demigods. He had hated doing it in the war and he didn't like doing it now. But he would.

"Try for rebirth, kid." Percy said, holding his sword tightly, ready to strike, "Better luck next time."

"No-!"

Percy swung, and took his head off cleanly. He dodged the spray of blood from the neck, and waited until the body slumped backwards, a pool forming behind.

Wincing, Percy picked up the head by his fingertips, and chucked it to Pasiphaë, who caught it with an exclamation.

"You just got blood on my dress!" she cried, setting the head down beside the liver.

"Liver of a titan, head of a demigod. You owe me a favour, Pasiphaë."

"Yes, that _was_ what I said, wasn't it? But that was for them." she gestured to the bodies of Jamila and Zach, "Do I _really_ want to help you?"

Percy was now decidedly in a bad mood. "I can _help_ you make a decision if you want." he threatened, hands wandering across the shelves for anything interesting.

"Oh, torture? You haven't even bought me dinner first." Pasiphaë said, but stopped grinning when she saw his face. "Fine. I'll cut you a deal, but I'm adding things."

"So am I." Percy said, holding up a sword holster that went across his back, "I get this as well."

"Fine."

" _Fine_."

Pasiphaë drummed her fingers along the side of her cauldron in thought as Percy slipped it over his shoulders, tightening it. He sheathed Adamas inside it, reaching behind to his back to check he could bring it out quickly. It was a good fit, and a lot better than staying in the remaining ragged belt loops on his jeans with the drakon bone sword.

"What favour are you asking for?" Pasiphaë said eventually.

"You said you can control the Labyrinth?" he asked, and continued when she nodded, "I want you to move me to wherever the Greek and Roman armies are on the surface."

"Then what?"

"I don't know, I was probably gonna break the ceiling and climb out. We're not too far from the surface down here."

Pasiphaë regarded him carefully as he sat down on one of the low shelves that had less clutter on it than the rest.

"Gaia would give me a lot of kudos if I gave you to her." Pasiphaë told him casually.

"I'm sure she would." Percy said. "Only she's not here right now. And let me assure you, I'm not stuck in here with you." Percy watched her closely. "You're stuck in here with _me_. I didn't go to Tartarus twice to be stopped now, not when I'm literally metres from the surface. I'm getting out of here, one way or another."

Pasiphaë seemed to think about it.

"How about this- I take you to wherever Gaia is. You fight, then whoever wins, wins. If she wins, I'm in the green with her. If you win, you have to promise to never kill me, or help kill me, come to think of it."

"Yeah, no, I don't think so." Percy shook his head. "You take me to my friends and then, maybe, I'll let you live."

"Well, neither of those plans seem to work. I could just kill you now." she offered.

"Trust me," Percy said, "You really couldn't."

He felt his ADHD impatience well up, starting to jog his leg up and down.

"You take me to my friends, and then neither of us try to kill each other. Doesn't get much better than that." he settled on.

"Like I'll take your word for it."

"Well, out of the both of us, who's more likely to be more honest?" Percy asked.

Pasiphaë raised her eyebrows.

"Okay, difficult question." he amended, "But still."

Pasiphaë seemed to think about it for a while.

"Hey," Percy began, "You know I punched my dad in the face a couple weeks, or months ago, I'm not sure. Let's just say that's for what my dad did to you and leave it at that, yeah?"

Pasiphaë snorted. "Good." she pursed her lips before nodding. " _Alright_ , alright. Your friends and Gaia are most likely in the same place anyway. I'll move the Labyrinth. But first you have to swear on the river Styx not to kill me after."

Percy didn't like it; in fact, he hated it. But he wasn't sure if he was ready to torture her into doing it. She hadn't really done anything bad to him. Yet, anyway.

"I'll swear not to kill you after you move the Labyrinth, but if you try to kill me, I'm allowed to."

"Done."

Percy stood up. "I swear on the river Styx that I will not kill Pasiphaë after she moves the Labyrinth to where my friends are, but only if she doesn't try to kill me first."

Percy thought he heard thunder in the distance, and a cloud of dust fell from the ceiling. Percy met Pasiphaë's eyes.

''Okay." she said, and raised her hands into the air.

The room trembled for a few seconds, then began to spin and lurch to sides. Somehow, none of the shelves or anything on them moved, but Percy was thrown to the side, and had to cling onto a metal frame to stay upright as stone grinder against stone and more dust fell on them. It felt like he was on the inside of a rubiks cube.

"No warning?" he yelled over the din, and only received a laugh in response.

It was only when Percy thought he was going to barf that the movement stopped. The room shuddered to a halt, and Percy held on even tighter.

"Ding ding!" cried the witch. "Last stop- Athens, Greece. Looks like something's about to go down."

"We're below Athens?" Percy asked.

Pasiphaë nodded. "I can sense all the giants and a ton of demigods all stood right above us."

Percy stood up. He'd have to cause another earthquake to get out and break the ceiling; he hoped he wouldn't cause too much of a mess on the surface. A hesitant grin flickered onto his face. He was so close, closer than he'd ever been.

"Jackson. You have to know, that I'm not trying to kill you." Pasiphaë spoke up behind him, and Percy felt a frown go onto his face instantly.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Your oath only said that you could kill me if I tried to kill you." Pasiphaë spoke slowly, not breaking eye contact with him, "Just so you don't break your oath. I'm not trying to kill you. I just maybe want to make the job a little easier for the giants."

Percy felt a like a bucket of water had been thrown onto him, and he didn't know what she was talking about, only that something bad was about to happen, as usual.

"Wha- MMPH!"

With a controlled swipe of Pasiphaë's outstretched hand, something black shot off one of the shelves, wrapping itself around to cover Percy's nose and mouth, like a mask.

One of his hands went up instantly to claw at it, even as he heard a buckle at the back clink tightly together, and the other hand went up to grab Pasiphaë's blood.

He yanked her body forwards, dark eyes glinting as he saw her head banging off the cauldron, but she just pushed back up onto all fours, ichor trickling down her forehead, and she focused her eyes on an object to Percy's right, another black thing zooming off the shelf to this time wrap around his eyes. Percy panicked as everything went dark.

She had blindfolded and muzzled him.

He clenched his fist, no longer seeing anything but black. But he could still hear the cauldron bubbling, could still hear her panting, and could still hear the pulsing of her blood through her body.

He grabbed it and squeezed.

He heard her scream.

Then the whole room began to shake.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **Yo I love my reviewers, especially my g Milk, so I'm asking yall a question: what would you personally like to see in the percabeth reunion? I've got some of it written out, but I'd hate for it to be cliché and an anti climax, ygm? Just drop a review and tell me what kinda things you'd really like to see.**

 **Ugh I watched the last ever episode of Grimm what even was that, it had been so good, why would they ruin it smh I had an angry shower after, legit just stood there with my arms crossed bloody fuming.**

 **Just FYI, the mask/muzzle thing on Percy that I failed to describe properly is basically Bucky Barnes' thing from the winter soldier, if you know, you know, if not, Google xoxoxo.**


	52. Octavian I

**Sorry about the wait yall, my phone #died so I had to get a new one and the screen is different so typing is weird. Also it snowed (Chicago are you okay) and my bus to college took an HOUR AND A HALF and we saw some dude get out his car and deck a roadworks guy, and when I actually got to college, I had like - 1 teachers, but on the plus side, my mum's coming to pick me up and we're just gonna go watch the new lego movie (6/10).**

 **Bit shorter than the last few as idk how to write this POV.**

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Chapter 52

Octavian I

The Augur banged his fists against the stone for what felt like the millionth time.

"I am the Consul of the Gods!" he screamed, "You are bound by blood to release me this instant!"

The infuriating ginger girl stuck her head round the corner of her canvas again, this time a smudge of blue paint under her tired eyes.

"Octavian." she said, as if she was talking to an idiot, which riled him up even more, "Buddy. I share _zero_ blood with the Gods. I don't _have_ to do anything."

"I have been here for weeks!" he snapped, "My Roman Legion will have your head for imprisoning me. You and this entire filthy little Graceus camp."

But the girl just nodded.

"Uhuh, okay, sure." she waved him off, a large paintbrush in her hand.

He practically snarled. This was Reyna's doing, or the imposter Jackson's. Those stupid Greeks had bombed their camp and now they had a _Greek_ praetor? Octavian wouldn't let it happen. Which was why he had appointed himself Pontifex Maximus, above Legionnaires, above Centurions and most certainly above Praetors. He had some loyalty still within the army, and as soon as he got out, he was going to burn this camp to the ground.

He had to.

It was what Gaia wanted.

"It's time." the Primordial Goddess whispered softly from the cave walls, her voice kind and respectful; Octavian couldn't resist.

They'd been talking for quite some time, reluctant at first, but the more she spoke, the more she offered him, the quicker he began to realise just what she could do for him. Respect from both mortals and immortals alike, all around the world. Power beyond his wildest dreams, enough to make Jackson fear _him_ instead, to make Reyna kneel at _his_ feet, to make _Jason's_ knees knock together in awe. To bring Rome out of the ashes and make it the new epicentre of the world.

Gaia had assured him of this. He just needed to escape first.

He was in the little Oracle's cave-house. His nose wrinkled as he looked around with distaste. Paintings littered the walls, full of monsters and kids in those silly orange shirts. He was in some kind of lurid green armchair, and though it was comfortable, he'd never say it. Children of Morpheus had kept him down for a while, but now it was only his legs that were asleep, to stop him running off.

And they were _torturing_ him!

Every five hours or so, on the hour every day, they would bring out food for him. But not normal, Roman food, oh no. It was different. Greek. Every dish under the sun mixed together, chips and samosas and blue cupcakes. They were giving him their _leftovers!_ And what kind of monsters ate _blue_ icing? Octavian seethed in his chair, lashing out and knocking off some of the books left out for him, earning another exasperated glance from the girl.

She seemed to be alarmed at what she was painting, but Octavian wasn't a master manipulator for nothing.

"Please," he said, making his voice as low as he could, "I'm so bored. Can I at least see what you're painting?"

The girl's eyebrows bounced as she frowned. "I'm not sure _what_ I'm painting." she said, but obliged, spinning round the easel.

Octavian stared at it in confusion. It was a figure, a person, but their face was obscured, some kind of black mask covering them from nose to chin, a band covering their eyes. They were topless, but their skin was stained red and gold, tattooed with smudged and incomprehensible symbols. A sharp black sword hung in their hand, the rest of the picture a whirl of dark blues.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"I'm not sure." she said again, but this time Octavian had a feeling she was lying; her eyes were worried and trained on the painting.

"Would that centaur man know? Chiron?" Octavian asked casually.

"Maybe." the girl stuck her paintbrush behind her ear, "I think I need to ask him, actually."

She turned to look at him, and smirked. "Don't move, I'll be right back."

"You don't have to say that _every_ time you leave!" Octavian shouted after her in frustration, but let it go.

It was time.

Slowly, he slid his uncooperative body out of the armchair, and began to drag himself across the floor, cold stone thankfully covered in an overlapping mess of fluffy rugs. Usually by the time he got to the painting of the spooky mansion, someone would walk in and hoist him back into the chair. But not this time. He had a plan with Gaia.

He groaned as he heaved himself along the floor a couple feet, aiming for the entrance of the cave, where he could see sprouts of grass trailing off towards the strawberry fields, which was overpowering and just plain stinky to his nose.

His elbows started to ache, but luckily, his arduous crawl was nearly over. He reached the edge of the cave, and sank his hands deep into the earth and mud.

"I welcome Mother Earth." he declared, the words repeating over and over in his head as they had done for weeks.

Octavian gasped.

A feeling spread up his arms, like bees going haywire in their hive, bugs crawling under and into his skin. His mouth dropped.

"Don't let go." Gaia whispered in his head, and he jumped as closed eyes protruded from the soil next to him, and he could see the eyeballs twitching and rolling behind the lids. "We're so close."

"This will give me my legs back?" he asked.

"Yes. And then you have several important things to do for me. For the fate of Rome."

Octavian nodded absently, his skinny chest puffing out, and a dark grin spread over his face as his legs began to twitch. Pins and needles filled them, and he slowly pulled himself into a crouch, hands still buried. His brows furrowed as he found himself unable to pull them out.

His wrists began to ache a little, and Octavian turned them over, watching in a flushed fascination as his sickly blue veins filled with a dark brown colour, going hard and pressing outwards on his skin, as if they were pumped with dirt. He gasped as it travelled up the rest of him, feeling thick lines shoot up the length of his neck. It felt... it felt... warmth spread over him, and Octavian forgot the stinging in his body, smiling broadly.

It felt like _power_.

He staggered to his feet, hands released.

"Hurry up," Gaia snapped, but to Octavian, her voice was an encouraging caress across his mud streaked face, and his smile bulged wider.

He turned to walk, his movements shaky and stiff at the same time, the mud in his veins like metal poles through his body. He wandered awkwardly through the still forest, eyes that didn't seem to close flicking from demigod to demigod in the distance. Orange shirts, purple shirts; Octavian felt a white hot fury, yet at the same time barely cared; the only thing that mattered anymore was waking up Gaia.

The camp was quieter than when they had arrived, the majority of both armies overseas. Those that remained were children, pacifists or defenders. Whilst the Greeks milled about as they liked, shrieking and laughing with each other, clanging their swords together, the Romans patrolled in groups, or simply sat around the campfires. Octavian's mad eyes tracked two campers as they hurried through the trees nearby, not noticing him as he stood and watched them, neck twisting slowly as they ran. One orange, one purple.

How sweet. They _liked_ each other.

Octavian reached down, and lifted a heavy rock the size of a remote control car.

A Greek and a Roman, together.

It flipped his stomach.

His body turning to catch up with his craned neck, Octavian followed silently, never taking his wide eyes off them. Their loud footsteps made them easy to track, he thought, his smile exposing his bared teeth now.

They disappeared behind a tree, and Octavian crept slowly closer, barely able to hold back an insane laugh choking his throat. He peered around, and saw the two embraced, kissing and giggling against a tree. The clashing of their shirts made his dry eyes hurt, and his smile grew feral, a hyena-like laugh bursting out of him.

The pair sprang apart, and Octavian recognised the Roman as Clara, a daughter of Bacchus. She whipped out an expandable spear, deftly maneuvering it in and out of her fingers.

The Greek boy just laughed, and shook his head, reassuring Clara. "It's probably a Stoll," he said, "Come on out, Connor!" he called, hands on his hips.

Octavian made no move to reveal himself, and trailed a heavy hand over the bark of a tree, feeling the intricacies and patterns in the wood. Oh yes, he thought, this would burn quite nicely.

Clara whipped her head around, gripping her spear tightly. The Greek boy now looked distinctly nervous, reaching for the dagger at his waist, but laid his other hand on Clara's shoulder.

"It's okay." he said softly, "There can't be any monsters within the border. It's probably just a prank, or a startled forest nymph."

Octavian shook his head from side to side. "Wrong, wrong, wrong," he said, and both demigods locked onto him as he stepped out the shadows.

The Greek boy shrieked. His eyes roamed Octavian's body as he stumbled back, his girlfriend stepping in front of him, face shocked but her spear lowered.

"Octavian," she muttered, "What- what's _happened_ to you?"

"How do you mean?" Octavian asked, wandering over to them.

"You look sick." she stated. " _Awful_. Your-your eyes aren't blue anymore. There are doctors here, I really think you should-"

"You were wrong." Octavian cut her off, his eyes trailing away and snapping back to her.

"I- what? Octavian, you really do look terrible. You've got these streaks all over your face and your arms, you need to see a doctor right now?"

"You were wrong." Octavian just repeated. "There are monsters within the border."

The Greek boy shook his head. "That's not possible. Thalia's tree protects us, and Peleus." he gestured over his shoulder, and Octavian spotted a large tree a few meters away from them that seemed to radiate power, a golden blanket of some sort ductaped to one of the branches. A dragon lay beneath, and Octavian could see it watching him. It was large, snake-headed with copper scales.

The demigods continued to talk to him for a while, but a smooth high pitched whistle just buzzed in his ears.

He stared at the dragon, and held back a smirk as he saw the earth reach up to muzzle and envelop the dragon. He couldn't hear it, and even if it tried, an aborted roar could just be mistaken for a wave this near the beach. Soon, all Octavian could see was its eyes glaring at him in a wild anger.

He stared back at the demigods blankly. He saw their mouths move, saw twigs snap underneath their feet, saw the trees creak around them, but he was deaf to it all.

He clenched the stone hard in his hand, and locked eyes with Clara, who still looked as if she was trying to help, poor thing, talking rapid silence.

Octavian nodded to himself.

And he swung the rock into her head.

The area around him erupted back into noise, the sickening crack of Clara's skull smashing, the scream of the Greek boy, the birds fleeing the trees around them. He began to laugh uncontrollably.

"There are monsters within these borders, but it's not me." he told the Greek boy, whose panicked gaze was flicking wildly between the bloody rock in his hand and the unmoving body on the floor, probably wanting to run but unwilling to leave Clara.

"How do you spot a monster?" Octavian asked him suddenly.

This seemed to confuse the other boy, but he didn't hesitate with a quick answer.

"I can spot one right now!" the boy told him, trying to circle him, but Octavian made no attempt to move.

"You look for claws, for fangs, for glowing eyes." he listed, as if the boy wasn't even there.

"And now are you gonna reveal that you have some of those, just tucked away?"

Octavian laughed again; these mortals were so funny. The boy thought he was a monster. He thought _he_ was the monster here.

"Of course not." he said. "But do you know how _I_ spot a monster?"

"I really don't care." he said, but Octavian barely heard him over the rushing in his head.

"I just look for one of those stupid orange shirts." he said simply, and lunged.

The boy's dagger clattered off Octavian's rock, though he caught him on the arm, with a desperate slash. But they both watched, the boy in horror, as only thick mud leaked out of the tear in his skin.

"What the _Hades_ are you?" the boy whispered, and his fear was a symphony in Octavian's ears.

Octavian leant forwards.

"I'm the Pontifex Maximus."

Their eyes met.

He turned to sprint, but Octavian was faster, stronger, better, than he had ever been in his entire life, and he caught his wrist as he turned. His other arm came up, and he slammed his rock into the boy's head as well. His fearful eyes glazed over and he crumpled. Octavian watched unblinkingly.

He reached down, and gripped the collars of their shirts, and began to drag the two towards the big tree: 'Thalia's Tree', whoever that was. Their blood had not yet reached the ground, trickling slowly into their eyes and impeded by their hair. It absorbed into their shirt collars, no longer purple and no longer orange, just a dull, thick red.

Blood of two demigods, Octavian thought to himself, _check._

He dumped their bodies at the foot of the tree, before looking up, evaluating it for weaknesses. They were silly mortals, Octavian thought, a _tree_ couldn't protect you. Only Gaia could.

He reached up, staring the dragon down as he tore the golden thing from the branches, ripped the segments of ductape off of it, and tied it around his neck like a praetor cloak. The Golden Fleece, his mind told him. The hero Jason had rescued it ages ago. Another artifact that didn't belong to the Greeks. Just like the Sibylline Books. Only _he_ could have it now. He was the only one who deserved it, the only one who could wield such power. He wasn't just a legacy and a failed seer now. He demanded the same respect as a demigod hero. No...Octavian amended. He demanded the same respect as a _God._

The dragon roared from where the very alive earth pinned it to the ground with all the weight and power of a primordial goddess.

"What do I do now?" he asked into the air.

But Gaia did not answer him, and Octavian felt a brief flash of worry. She was probably somewhere else, he thought. In Greece, he imagined, drowning the army in quicksand. The closer she got to awakening, the more power she unlocked, and the more power Octavian knew he would have when she took over. He'd destroy that cave, for one, painter inside and all.

He'd chain the remaining seven up, keep them like pets. The blonde girl was dead, Jackson was in Tartarus, probably dead or insane; for the most powerful demigods of their generation, they didn't know how to stay alive very well, he thought, spluttering out a laugh, spraying a dark black spit across the trunk of the tree.

It began to hiss on the bark, soil enveloping and crushing the wood. Octavian watched with joy, before he flipped over the bodies, searching their pockets for- ah, he knew Clara at least had- yes!

Octavian pulled out a lighter and held it up with reverence. He scooped up the Graceus' dagger, similar to his own before they had robbed him of his possessions. Yes. These would do nicely.

He wandered in a circle around the large tree, setting fire to various leaves and twigs that caught his eye, giggling uncontrollably. 'Graceus scum', he thought madly, rhymes with 'Graceus burn.'

He was a legacy of Apollo, after all; poetry was in his nature.

When the fire began to crackle and drop from above, Octavian pulled back, and his eyes lit up with the reflection of the majestic tree slowly spreading with fire. The blaze spread, sparks drifting to land on nearby trees, until at least a couple branches on every tree around him was ablaze.

He couldn't even feel the heat, and breathed in the thick smoke as if it was as thin as regular oxygen. His pasty skin glowed orange, the dark streaks across his skin jumping out as the fire flickered and grew around him. Flames pulsed in the yellow eyes of the dragon, Peleus, he thought it was called, but Octavian didn't know what it was so worried about; dragons couldn't be burned.

With a loud whoosh, Octavian looked up to see the large tree shake; a translucent barrier of blue appeared, but it was going an asphyxiated purple, and within a minute, Octavian could barely see it at all.

He held out his arms as if he was on a cross, and took a moment to revell in the chaos, beginning to hear the screams in the distance.

Music to his ears.

He was a legacy of Apollo; music came naturally to him too.

He dragged the two bodies to the edge of the forest, where he could see various demigods gathered. They pointed at him, clapping hands over their mouths in shock, and levelling arrows. Chiron stood in the middle, his lower half stamping its hooves, looking both furious and protective.

Octavian chuckled nastily to himself again, taking out the dagger and positioning himself over the bodies, knife high in the air. An arrow sailed into his chest, and he just laughed harder as the arrow was pushed out by a sprouting plant. He'd love to see Reyna disagree with him in front of the centurions now.

The face of Gaia emerged from the dirt next to him.

"The armies are distracted. Now is the time." she said, "They aren't the best sacrifices, but once I wake, and deal with a certain thorn in my side, I can just take the rest by force. Do it. Do it now."

Octavian felt more important than anybody else in the world, and puffed his chest out, as mud began to drip out of his ears, and as arrows flew past his face. He glanced at the bodies underneath him; he could no longer remember which one was Greek and which one was Roman.

All he saw were his stuffed animals and his dagger.

And he was more than willing to make these sacrifices.

 **000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

 **I am alarmed at the possible amount of chapters left in this, like I don't want it to end, but I also wanna post the last chapter and just sit back and click 'Complete' as the story status. I'm definitely gonna have a couple epilogues, not the J K Rowling type don't worry lmao, but just like,,, snapshots,,, nah I'm not gonna give it away yall can wait.**

 **I just saw a really hot guy omg I didn't even think hot people existed in real life he looked like a British Zac Efron. We made eye contact and suddenly I was ready to get married.**


End file.
